THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


'  '  TO   THE    MAST    WITH   HIM  !'    SAID   MARTIN   ALONZO.' 

[See  page  73.] 


DIEGO  PINZON 

AND 
I 

THE  FEARFUL    VOYAGE  HE   TOOK 

INTO  THE  UNKNOWN  OCEAN 

A.D.  1492 


BY 

JOHN  RUSSELL  CORYELL 

ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE 

1892 


Copyright,  1891,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 
All  rights  reserved. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


' "  TO    THE    MAST    WITH    HIM  !'     BAID    MARTIN 

ALONZO  " Frontispiece. 

"'THINK  TWICE,  DID  YOU  SAT,  FRAY  ANTO 
NIO,'  ASKED  THE  BOY,  'ERE  I  SET  FOOT  TO 

THE  GROUND ?'" Facing  p,  8 

"'TUT!'  SAID  THE  FRIAR,  TAKING  DlEGO  BY 

THE  COLLAR  AND  LEADING  HIM  AWAY"  .  "  18 
"  'IT  IS  MY  COUSIN'S  SON,  DlEGO  ?  GOOD-DAY 

TO  THEE,  LAD!'" "        22 

"  'HE  IS  VERY  YOUNG  TO  DIE,'  SAID  A  MOCK 
ING  VOICE" "  32 

"THEN,  LIKE  A  FLASH,  FOR  HE  WAS  A  QUICK 
BOY,  DlEGO  STRUCK  THE  OTHER  BOY  ON 
THE  CHEEK" ••  34 

"'NOW  GO  FORWARD  WHERE  YOU  BELONG*".        "        40 
"  '  HUSH  !'      WHISPERED     JUAN,     SUDDENLY. 

'  THERE  IS  A  NOISE   IN  THE   CABIN '  ".      .      .  "  58 

"MARTIN    ALONZO    DISAPPEARED   OVER   THE 

SIDE" "        66 

"  '  THOU  ART  A  TRUE  PlNZON,  AND  I  AM  PROUD 

OF  THEE'" «        88 

"  IF    I    HAD     TOLD,    YOU    WOULD     HAVE     BEEN 

HANGED  UP  THERE" "         96 

"'I  SHALL  SHOOT   THE  FIRST  MAN  WHO  TRIES 

TO  DESERT'" "       106 


JVJ304061 


IV  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  NO  TWO  BOYS  EVER  FILLED  CASKS  WITH  SUCH 

EXPEDITION  AS  THOSE  TWO  DID".     .    .     .  Facing  p.  110 

"  '  HEY,  THERE  !  YOU  TWO  HAVE  HAD  ENOUGH,' 

SAID  A  MAN'S  VOICE" "        118 

411  COME,  SPEAK  OUT,  BOY  !'" "        130 

"  ALL  OVER  THE  VESSEL  COULD  BE  SEEN  THOSE 

STRONG   MEN  WEEPING  " "  138 

"THE  ADMIRAL  WAS  SPLENDIDLY  ROBED  IN  A 
BRILLIANT  SCARLET  CLOAK  OVER  HIS  RICH 
AND  GLITTERING  ARMOR,  AND  HELD  THE 

ROYAL  STANDARD  IN  HIS  OWN  HAND"  .    .        "       154 
"REFRESHING  THEMSELVES  WITH  THE  FRUITS 

THAT    WERE    BROUGHT    THEM    BY  THE  NA 
TIVES  " «'          156 

' '  JINGLED  IT  BEFORE  THE  EYES  OF  THE  SAVAGE  "        "       160 
"'NOT  BARTER  FOR  GOLD?'   CRIED  MARTIN 

ALONZO" "        164 

"  DlEGO   DROPPING   THROUGH    THE  BLACKNESS 

OF  THE  NIGHT" "       190 

"HE  REACHED  OUT  AND   CLUTCHED  AT  THE 

FLOATING  THING" "       194 

"  THERE  THEY  BOTH  SANK  DOWN  "    ....        *£?  204 

"'  LOOK  !'  SAID  DIEGO  " "       212 

"  THE  CLEFT  PROVED  TO  BE  A  NARROW,  CAVE- 
LIKE  OPENING  "  .  .  "  214 

"CAUGHT  UP  SOME  OF  THE  TORCHES  AND  AD 
VANCED  IN  A  BODY" "  220 

"OF  COURSE  THE  KNIFE  CUT  HIS  FINGERS "  .        "       232 
4 'FOR  THREE  NIGHTS  THEY  FLOATED  DOWN 

THE  STREAM" "        244 

"  DIEGO  WENT  WITH  JUAN  TO  SEE  THE  MAN 

UNCHAINED" "        252 

DlEGO  RELATES  HIS  ADVENTURES  TO  THE  CON 
VENT  BOYS "  28|8 


DIEGO  PINZON. 


CHAPTER   I. 

IN  the  ancient  province  of  Andalusia,  which, 
as  everybody  knows,  is  famous  for  the  charms 
of  its  climate  and  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  there 
stands  now,  as  there  stood  four  centuries  ago, 
the  convent  of  La  Rabida. 

The  convent  is  almost  a  ruin  now ;  but  in  those 
days  it  was  a  sturdy  pile,  where  a  busy,  eager 
body  of  Franciscan  friars  dwelt,  governed  by  the 
learned  and  good  Fray  Juan  Perez,  who  had  once 
been  confessor  to  the  queen,  Isabella. 

Eow  there  is  something  mournful  in  the  soli 
tude  of  the  place ;  but  in  the  days  when  the  things 
happened  which  are  set  down  here,  there  was  a 
suppressed  excitement  pervading  the  atmosphere 
of  the  convent,  which  had  communicated  itself 
even  to  Fray  Pedro,  who  had  been  given  the  post 
of  porter  because  he  had  what  the  good  prior 
called  such  a  singular  gift  of  slumber. 
1 


2  DIEGO    PINZON. 

There  had  been  clays  recently  when  Fray  Pe 
dro  had  not  closed  Ijis  eyes  for  as  long  as  two 
consecutive  hours ;  and  if  he  felt  the  influence 
that  was  around  him,  what  wonder  if  the  boys, 
digging  away  desperately  at  their  humanities, 
should  be  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  un 
rest  and  excitement  ? 

Fray  Bartolomeo  was  the  pedagogue,  who  had 
been  selected  for  the  office  because  of  his  great 
learning ;  but  he  searched  the  stores  of  his  knowl 
edge  in  vain  during  those  days  for  a  device  to 
turn  the  minds  of  the  scholars  from  the  one  topic 
that  absorbed  them. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  at  the  seaport 
town  of  Palos,  only  half  a  league  away  from 
the  convent,  preparations  were  going  on  for  an 
adventure  of  the  most  fearful  nature — an  advent 
ure  which  some  people  did  not  hesitate  to  say 
was  prompted  by  the  evil  one  himself,  and  which 
others,  more  lenient,  declared  could  have  been 
conceived  only  by  a  madman. 

At  the  convent  they  did  not  believe  the  first 
of  these  propositions  at  all,  nor  did  any  one  give 
word  openly  to  the  second ;  though  there  were 
many  there  who  harbored  it  in  their  secret 
thoughts,  and  who  occasionally  whispered  it. 

The  prior,  Juan  Perez,  had  faith  in  the  advent 
ure,  and,  indeed,  had  done  all  that  lay  in  his 


DIEGO    PINZON.  6 

power  to  forward  it,  and  was  continuing  to  do 
so  in  the  face  of  the  most  violent  opposition. 
Bat  then,  as  a  brother  one  day  whispered  to 
another,  the  prior  was  given  to  the  promulga 
tion  of  new  ideas. 

It  seems  that  a  foreigner— an  Italian  of  some 
sort,  it  was  believed  from  his  accent — had  per 
suaded  the  queen  to  venture  some  money  in  this 
execrable  enterprise,  and  had  further  induced  her 
to  designate  the  port  of  Palos  as  the  place  which 
should  furnish  a  portion  of  the  doomed  fleet  and 
crew. 

There  was  very  little  doubt  that  they  were 
doomed ;  though  this  man,  Christoval  Colon,  pre 
tended  to  demonstrate  that  there  was  no  danger 
at  all  attached  to  his  purposed  expedition,  and 
had  persuaded  the  good  Fray  Juan  Perez  of  the 
correctness  of  his  demonstration. 

It  was  true  that  so  good  a  seaman  as  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon  had  been  beguiled  by  the  spe 
cious  representations  of  the  pestilent  foreigner, 
and  that  Martin  had  in  turn  induced  his  brothers 
and  many  of  his  kin  to  lend  their  countenance 
and  aid  to  the  adventure.  A  number  of  the 
Pinzons  had,  in  fact,  enlisted  in  the  enterprise. 

It  was  very  well  known,  however,  that  the 
Pinzons  were  bold,  reckless  sailors,  who  feared 
naught  and  would  dare  anything,  and  all  that 


4  DIEGO   PINZON. 

the  people  of  Palos  had  to  say  as  to  that  was 
that  they  wished  them  luck,  and  hoped  they 
would  come  back  alive.  It  was  no  secret,  more 
over,  that  more  than  one  Pinzon  wished  himself 
well  out  of  the  affair,  and  would  have  taken  him 
self  incontinently  out,  had  it  not  been  that  the 
present  fear  of  the  wrath  of  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon  was  far  greater  than  the  fear  of  the 
more  remote  perils  that  threatened  them  on  the 
trackless  wastes  of  that  ocean  which,  somewhere 
in  the  far  western  distance,  poured  over  the  edge 
of  the  earth  into  the  bottomless  abyss  beyond. 
Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  was  a  difficult  man  to 
gainsay,  and  those  of  his  poorer  kinsmen  who 
could  not  take  comfort  in  the  logic  of  the  Italian 
must  set  themselves  up  against  the  will  of  the 
bluff  sailor,  who  had  a  voice  in  which  thunder 
rumbled  and  an  eye  in  which  the  storm-lightning 
played. 

Martin  Alonzo  had  furnished  one  vessel  in 
joint  account  with  the  foreigner,  and  as  Palos 
owed,  as  a  sort  of  forfeit,  the  service  of  two  ves 
sels  for  a  year  to  the  sovereigns,  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  two  vessels  had  been  forcibly  distrained 
for  the  benefit  of  the  foreigner. 

As  for  the  crews,  Pinzon  had  haled  a  goodly 
number  of  his  kinsmen  into  service,  and  cajoled 
a  few  of  his  townsmen ;  but  there  was  no  induce- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  5 

ment  that  could  make  any  others  stir  a  step 
towards  such  certain  destruction  until  a  royal 
ordinance  was  issued,  offering  freedom  to  such 
convicts  as  would  venture  their  lives  rather  than 
remain  in  durance. 

But  even  with  that  the  crews  did  not  fill  up 
to  the  required  number,  and  the  mortal  terror 
that  was  on  those  who  had  agreed  to  go  caused 
them  to  desert  at  every  opportunity ;  and  the 
consequent  wrath  of  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  was 
a  thing  to  be  shunned  carefully. 

And,  as  may  be  seen,  all  this  disturbance  and 
turmoil  naturally  created  the  bitterest  feeling ; 
and  for  the  weeks  that  the  foreigner  rested  at 
Palos  the  talk  of  his  insane  folly— to  call  it  no 
worse — ran  high,  indeed.  Well  it  was  for  him 
that  he  had  the  good-will  of  the  prior,  Juan 
Perez,  and  the  endorsement  of  the  burly  sailor. 


CHAPTER   II. 

WHILE  the  little  fleet  destined  for  the  mad 
enterprise  lay  in  port,  it  was  considered  ^advis 
able  to  restrain  the  boys  of  the  convent  school 
within  the  walls.  So  it  came  about  that  the 
gardener  was  driven  almost  distracted  by  the 
peril  of  his  choicest  vegetables  and  flowers ;  for 
the  boys  had  not  the  same  passionate  regard  for 
the  growing  things  that  he  had. 

"  See  there,  now !"  said  Fray  Antonio,  angrily, 
as  he  held  one  of  the  boys  by  the  collar  of  his 
jacket,  "  you  have  planted  your  clumsy  foot  on 
the  stem  of  my  choicest  melon,  and  it  lacked  a 
day  of  perfect  ripening.  Think  twice  " — he  cuffed 
him  heartily  as  many  times — "  ere  ever  you  set 
foot  to  ground  again," 

He  pushed  the  boy  from  him,  and  then  regarded 
him  as  if  sorry  he  had  not  been  more  liberal  with 
his  blows.  The  boy  shook  himself  and  gave  back 
to  the  exasperated  gardener  a  glance  as  angry 
as  his  own.  But  that  was  only  the  first  impulse ; 
the  second  followed  close  on  its  heels  and  turned 
the  anger  into  mischief.  The  lad  cast  a  swift 


DIEGO    PINZON.  7 

glance  at  his  comrades,  who  stood  by,  smother 
ing  their  mirth,  and  then  looked  with  exagger 
ated  innocence  at  the  irate  gardener. 

"Think  twice,  did  you  say,  Fray  Antonio," 
asked  the  boy,  "  ere  I  set  foot  to  the  ground  ?  Is 
it  one  of  the  rules  of  the  order  ?  Or  is  it  a  rule 
you,  only,  go  by  ?  And  would  it  not  cause  one 
to  go  with  a  singular,  halting  gait  ?  As  thus — " 
he  raised  a  foot  and  held  it  suspended—"  I  think 
once,  I  think  twice,  and  down  she  goes,  j^ow 
the  other.  I  think  once,  I  think  twice.  Oh, 
but  that  is  rare  and  dignified,  Fray  Antonio, 
though  I  misdoubt  those  boys  be  laughing  at 


me." 


"  I  will  have  a  word  with  Fray  Bartolomeo," 
stuttered  the  angry  gardener. 

"  Gracias  for  that,"  said  the  boy ;  "  and  I  beg 
you  to  expound  the  thing  to  him,  lest,  when  he 
calls  me  and  I  go  in  this  new  fashion  to  him,  he 
may  misjudge  me.  Do  I  catch  the  motion,  good 
Fray  Antonio  ?" 

He  walked  towards  his  convulsed  comrades 
with  an  absurd,  halting  step. 

"  Ah,"  said  Fray  Antonio,  with  a  grim,  angry 
humor  of  his  own,  "  you  will  catch  the  motion, 
doubt  it  not,  when  you  dance  to  the  music  of 
the  scourge.  I  will  see  to  that,  Diego  Pinzon,  I 
will  see  to  that." 


8  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"He  means  to  do  it,  Diego,"  said  one  of  the 
boys,  looking  where  the  angry  brother  went. 

"  Why,  of  course  he  means  to  do  it,"  said  Die 
go,  "  and  Fray  Bartolomeo  will  ask  no  better  than 
to  ply  the  scourge  over  my  back.  I  might  in 
deed  ask  him  to  think  twice  ere  he  let  the  scourge 
fall,  but  I  doubt  if  he  will  be  as  ready  as  I  was 
to  act  on  the  hint." 

"  You  may  well  doubt  it,"  laughed  one  of  the 
boys. 

"  It  is  a  thing  he  knows  no  moderation  in," 
said  Diego,  with  a  grimace. 

"  The  sting  would  have  been  no  greater  had 
you  first  eaten  the  melon  instead  of  only  bruis 
ing  the  stem,"  said  another. 

They  all  found  it  easy  to  be  merry  since  it  was 
Diego  who  was  to  pay  the  reckoning.  But  Diego 
was  as  merry  as  they  ;  for  it  was  not  in  his  nat 
ure  to  cross  the  bridge  until  he  reached  it. 

"'Tis  a  good  suggestion,  Alfonso,"  said  he. 
"  Who  will  eat  of  the  fruit  if  I  remove  it  from 
the  bruised  stem  ?  I  will  promise  to  take  all  the 
blame.  Alfonso  only  speaks  the  truth  when  he 
says  I  will  pay  as  much  for  the  stem  as  for  the 
melon.  For  my  own  part,  I  think  Fray  Antonio 
lets  the  melons  stay  too  long  on  the  vine.  An 
over-ripe  melon  does  not  suit  my  palate.  Who 
is  with  me  ?" 


DIEGO  PINZON.  9 

The  boys  looked  at  each  other  and  then  at  the 
melon  that  lay  among  the  leaves,  showing  a 
swelling  side  full  of  suggestions  of  lusciousness 
and  melting  juiciness. 

"  It  would  be  a  pity  for  the  melon  to  spoil," 
said  Alfonso. 

"  Besides,"  said  Diego,  hunching  his  shoulders 
meaningly,  "  it  would  be  unfair  to  pay  the  price 
for  nothing." 

A  grin  went  around  the  circle,  and  Diego,  with 
a  glance  about  the  enclosure,  stepped  over  to 
the  melon  and  plucked  it  from  the  vine. 

"  Ah,"  said  he,  smacking  his  lips,  "  Fray  An 
tonio  is  but  a  poor  gardener  ;  the  melon  would 
not  have  stood  another  day.  "Where  shall  we 
eat  it  ?" 

That  was  a  serious  question,  and  the  boys 
looked  blankly  at  each  other.  It  was  not  easy 
to  hide  in  the  convent  grounds,  especially  when 
an  angry  gardener  was  likely  to  make  quick 
search.  But  Diego  was  full  of  expedients.  Fray 
Bartolomeo  had  often  told  him  that  if  he  would 
but  give  the  same  attention  to  study  that  he  did 
to  mischief  he  would  surpass  the  best  of  them  all. 

"  Tut !"  said  he,  in  answer  to  their  looks,  "  it 
will  be  the  easiest  thing  imaginable.  Fray  Pedro 
will  be  sound  asleep,  and  his  keys  will  be  in  his 
girdle.  It  would  be  a  huge  pity  to  awake  him, 


10  DIEGO   PINZON. 

and  I  will  not  do  it,  merely  to  ask  him  to  open 
the  gates.  I  will  just  slip  up  to  him  and  help 
myself  to  the  keys  and  open  the  gates.  It  will 
be  a  real  mercy.  Come  with  me." 

The  business  began  to  look  too  serious  to  some 
of  the  boys,  and,  if  there  had  been  any  bold 
enough,  there  would  have  been  a  decided  demur 
to  this  proposition ;  but  there  was  none,  and  so 
they  all  straggled  after  their  bold  leader. 

Fray  Pedro,  the  porter,  was  in  the  state  that 
Diego  had  declared  he  would  be.  He  was  at 
his  post,  it  is  true ;  but  his  twice-doubled  chin 
was  sunk  into  his  neck,  the  flies  had  undisturbed 
possession  of  his  shaven  skull,  and,  as  if  it  were 
needed,  his  nose  gave  forth  to  the  world  a  defi 
ant  sort  of  notice  that  he  slept. 

Diego  gave  the  melon  into  the  keeping  of  his 
trusty  lieutenant,  Alfonso,  and  crept  up  to  the 
side  of  the  drowsy  friar,  and  detached  the  bunch 
of  keys  from  his  ample  girdle. 

This  was  the  last  chance  the  timid  ones  would 
have  to  retreat,  and  more  than  one  looked  for 
encouragement  at  his  neighbor ;  but  Diego  acted 
as  if  he  expected  to  be  followed,  and  followed 
he  was. 

Pie  knew  the  right  key,  and  put  it  in  the  lock 
and  turned  it  softly.  The  bolt  shot  back  and 
the  door  swung  open.  Then  Diego  slipped  back 


DIEGO    PINZON.  11 

and  readjusted  the  keys  in  the  friar's  girdle,  and 
a  moment  later  the  boys  of  the  convent  school 
were  scurrying  towards  the  olive  grove  hard 

by- 

There  is  probably  a  difference  of  opinion  in 
respect  to  melons.  Certainly  the  boys  differed 
from  Fray  Antonio  as  to  the  ripeness  of  the  one 
they  discussed  in  the  coolness  of  the  olive  grove. 
They  thought  it  could  not  have  been  more  de 
licious.  There  was  but  one  fault — it  was  too 
small  a  melon  for  eleven  boys.  There  should 
always  be  eleven  melons  for  eleven  boys. 

"  It  is  very  good,"  said  Alfonso,  eating  rather 
close  to  the  rind,  "  and  it  would  have  been  wasted 
on  that  Italian,  Christoval  Colon,  who  would 
have  been  sure  to  share  it  with  our  reverend 
prior." 

"  Yes,"  said  Diego,  "  it  would  have  been  wast 
ed  ;  but  much  as  I  have  enjoyed  it,  I  would  not 
have  begrudged  it  to  him ;  for  it  is  like  enough 
that  once  he  sets  sail  he  will  never  taste  of  melon 
again.  Was  ever  so  crazy  a  venture !  And  yet 
to  look  at  him  he  is  serious  and  reverend  enough. 
I  thank  my  cousin,  Martin  Alonzo,  that  he  fixed 
on  me  for  the  church.  I  would  not  go  the  voy 
age  with  him — no,  not  for  ten  thousand  ducats 
of  gold." 

"  Ducats  of  gold  !"  said  Alfonso,  doubtfully. 


12  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  I  should  think  twice,  like  Fray  Antonio,  before 
I  would  refuse  that." 

"  Gold  or  silver,"  said  Diego,  scornfully,  "  what 
would  they  profit  you  an  you  never  returned 
home  to  spend  them?" 

"  Let  us  go  back,"  said  one  of  the  timid  ones, 
to  whom  the  mention  of  Fray  Antonio  had 
brought  up  visions  of  a  scourge  vigorously  ap 
plied. 

"  Go  back !"  said  Diego.  "  Not  I.  As  well 
be  hung  for  an  old  sheep  as  a  young  lamb.  The 
vessels  sail  to-night,  and  I  warrant  there  will  be 
rare  doings  at  Palos  to-day.  I  am  going  to  Pa- 
los.  Who  is  with  me  ?" 

"I  will  go,"  said  Alfonso.  "Why  not?  I 
have  eaten  the  melon,  and  I  must  digest  it.  Who 
else  is  with  us  ?" 

But  very  fear  had  made  the  others  bold  by 
this  time,  and  to  a  boy  they  shrank  back. 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  Diego.  "Well,  go 
back,  but  have  a  care  that  Fray  Antonio  is  not 
waiting  for  you  at  the  gate." 

It  was  so  possible  a  thing  that  the  boys  looked 
miserably  at  each  other  for  a  moment,  and  then 
started  on  a  run  for  the  convent,  followed  by  the 
jeering  laughter  of  the  two  who  had  elected  to 
be  truants. 

As  for  them,  the  moment  of  reckoning  was  so 


DIEGO   PINZON.  13 

far  away  that  they  felt  very  reckless,  and  it  was 
with  an  air  of  bravado  that  they  struck  into  the 
dusty  road  and  walked  hastily  into  the  town. 

When  they  reached  the  town  they  found  that 
Diego  had  been  quite  right,  and  that  the  place 
was  in  a  turmoil  indeed.  On  the  square  there 
were  sullen  faces,  and  down  on  the  quay,  whither 
they  hurried  at  once,  there  were  weeping  women 
and  angry  men ;  while  on  the  three  little  vessels, 
anchored  a  stone' s-throw  off  shore,  the  crews 
could  be  seen  hanging  miserably  over  the  rails, 
casting  longing  eyes  ashore. 

''When  do  they  sail?"  demanded  Diego  of  a 
man  standing  near  him  on  the  quay. 

"  They  only  wait  on  some  jail-birds  that  have 
consented  to  go,"  answered  the  man  in  a  surly 
tone.  "  Even  they  are  too  good  for  such  a 
cruise ;  but  if  the  whole  crew  was  of  the  same  it 
were  better.  'Tis  a  sin  to  let  good  men  risk  their 
lives  so." 

"  Here  they  come !  here  they  come  !"  one  and 
another  said,  and  the  boys,  looking  around,  saw 
a  burly,  bold -looking  man  making  his  way 
through  the  crowd,  followed  closely  by  two 
hang-dog  looking  fellows,  who,  in  their  turn,  were 
followed  by  an  officer  of  the  Holy  Brotherhood, 
as  the  police  of  Spain  was  then  called. 

"  'Tis  my  cousin,  Martin  Alonzo,"  whispered 


1-i:  DIEGO    PINZON. 

Diego  to  his  companion.  "  Let  me  h-ide  behind 
you ;  for  if  he  see  me  and  be  short  of  hands,  he 
will  think  nothing  of  taking  me  in  tow." 

The  fear  might  be  well  enough  founded ;  but 
Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  was  thinking  of  other 
things  than  the  young  Pinzon  whom  he  had 
destined  to  the  priesthood.  He  had  had  so  much 
opposition  and  so  many  hard  words  that  he  was 
on  the  quivive  to  catch  and  answer  anything 
that  might  be  said  to  him. 

He  left  the  officer  and  his  two  prisoners  near 
to  where  Diego  stood,  and  went  to  the  edge  of  the 
quay  to  hail  a  small  boat  from  one  of  the  vessels. 
Now  Diego  was  not  one  ever  to  lose  an  oppor 
tunity.  He  saw  by  the  looks  of  the  prisoners 
that,  though  they  had  chosen  the  perilous  voy 
age  rather  than  remain  in  prison,  they  were  yet 
far  from  happy  in  their  lot.  And  the  younger  of 
the  two,  who  was  scarcely  older  than  himself, 
was  particularly  unhappy. 

"  He  is  very  young  to  die,"  said  Diego,  in  a 
sepulchral  tone. 

Some  of  the  bystanders  laughed ;  for  the  tone 
was  only  in  keeping  with  the  dismal  expression 
of  the  young  convict.  But  the  latter  raised  his 
sullen  face  and  glared  at  Diego.  He  said  noth 
ing,  but  there  was  something  unpleasantly  vin 
dictive  in  his  eyes.  Alfonso  said : 


DIEGO    PINZON.  15 

"  'Tis  well  you  are  not  going  to  take  the  voy 
age  with  him." 

"  I  think  so  myself,"  answered  Diego,  care 
lessly  ;  "  but  if  I  went  the  voyage,  I  think  I 
would  make  little  account  of  his  anger,  or  any 
one's  else." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  man  to  whom  they 
had  first  spoken,  "  what  with  dragons  and  mon 
ster  serpents,  and  great  gulfs  in  the  water,  and 
creatures  that  live  on  human  flesh  and  all  sorts 
of  inconceivable  perils,  'tis  better  far  to  dare  any 
thing  than  go  such  a  voyage." 

"Here,"  roared  the  voice  of  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon,  at  this  moment,  "  take  these  fellows  off 
to  my  vessel,  and  see  that  they  remain  there." 

The  two  prisoners  were  hurried  into  the  boat 
amid  the  silence  of  the  spectators,  and  Martin 
Alonzo  went  back  into  the  town. 

"  I  would  rather  take  my  chances  at  the  con 
vent,"  said  Diego. 

"  So  would  I,"  agreed  Alfonso.  "  Shall  we  go 
there  now  ?" 

"  Why  should  we  ?  We  shall  be  flogged  the 
same,  whether  we  stay  an  hour  or  five.  I  say, 
let  us  wait  and  see  the  vessels  weigh  anchor." 

"  Let  us  then,"  said  Alfonso,  who  seldom  gain 
said  his  friend. 

"  For  a  fact,"  said  Diego,  nodding  his  head 


16  DIEGO   PINZON. 

sagely,  "  old  Bartolomeo  cannot  hurt  much  any 
how." 

"  Old  Bartolomeo !" 

A  hand  was  on  the  collar  of  each  boy's  jacket. 
Neither  looked  up  to  see  whose  the  hand  was. 
They  had  recognized  the  voice  as  that  of  him 
whom  Diego  had  called  "old  Bartolomeo." 
They  cast  despairing  and  disgusted  grimaces  at 
each  other. 

"  Will  you  lay  hold  of  this  scape-gallows,"  said 
the  Franciscan  to  the  man  with  whom  the  boys 
had  been  holding  converse. 

The  man  grinned  and  took  a  firm  hold  of 
Diego's  collar,  much  to  the  surprise  of  that  lad, 
who  had  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  be 
made  the  example  of ;  it  being  evident  that  the 
pedagogue  intended  to  administer  summary  pun 
ishment. 

"  Be  careful,"  said  the  Franciscan ;  "  for  he  is 
a  slippery  rascal ;  and,  now,  give  me  space." 

It  was  a  diversion  as  good  as  any  for  the  idle 
crowd  to  see  Alfonso  capering  under  the  hot 
blows  of  the  angry  friar,  and  they  cheered  him 
on  with  laughing  shouts. 

"  And  now,"  said  Fray  Bartolomeo,  letting  the 
scourge  fall  at  his  side  from  sheer  exhaustion, 
"  do  thou  hasten  back  to  the  convent,  and  make 
good  speed,  or  it  shall  be  the  worse  for  thee." 


DIEGO   riNZON.  17 

Diego  had  not  felt  the  same  sorrow  for  Al 
fonso  that  he  might  have  done,  but  for  the  con 
viction  that  the  worthy  friar  would  be  too  worn 
with  his  exertions  to  do  justice  to  his  particular 
case.  But  when  the  Franciscan  released  Alfon 
so,  Diego,  not  to  betray  his  satisfaction,  set  up 
a  howl,  and  begged  the  friar  not  to  be  too  hard 
upon  him,  at  the  same  time  casting  a  comical 
glance  at  the  spectators,  to  let  them  understand 
that  he  cared  not  a  fig  for  the  worthy  man's 
castigation. 

a  As  for  thee,  Diego  Pinzon,  who  art  counting 
on  my  weakened  strength,  thou  goest  to  one 
whose  arm  will  not  fail  him,  I  warrant — thy 
cousin,  Martin  Alonzo." 

Then  did  Diego  turn  pale,  not  only  with  the 
fear  of  an  arm  whose  like  was  not  in  Palos,  but 
with  a  greater  fear. 

"  In  mercy  don't  do  that,"  he  cried.  "  I  mind 
not  the  flogging,  I  will  do  any  penance ;  but 
take  me  not  to  my  cousin,  for  I  know  in  my 
heart  he  will  ship  me  for  the  terrible  voyage." 

"Ah,  that  he  will,"  said  the  man  who  held 
him ;  "  for  he  has  not  his  complement  yet." 

"  Tut !"  said  the  friar,  taking  Diego  by  the 
collar  and  leading  him  away ;  and  the  heart  of 
the  boy  sank  within  him. 
2 


CHAPTER  III. 

DIEGO'S  terror  of  his  cousin  was  in  no  wise 
assumed — it  was  very  real ;  for  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon,  besides  being  the  acknowledged  head  of 
the  Pinzon  family  and  a  very  masterful  man,  was 
the  legal  guardian  of  Diego  and  had  his  future 
in  his  keeping. 

"  Good  Fray  Bartolomeo,"  pleaded  Diego,  ear 
nestly,  "  do  not  take  me  to  my  cousin.  I  will 
mend  my  ways,  indeed  I  will.  And  you  may 
put  any  penance  on  me,  and  you  shall  see  how 
cheerfully  I  will  do  it." 

"  Thou  shouldst  have  thought  of  all  that  be 
fore,"  said  the  friar,  feeling  a  pity  for  Diego  that 
he  would  not  betray,  because  he  believed  the 
mischievous  lad  needed  a  severe  lesson. 

"  You  do  not  know  my  cousin,"  said  Diego, 
mournfully. 

"  'Tis  plain  thou  dost,"  said  Fray  Bartolomeo. 

"  The  flogging  he  would  give  me  I  care  little 
for,"  said  Diego. 

" Be  not  too  sure,*  his  arm  is  not  that  of  ' old 
Bartolomeo.' " 


'  TUT  !'    SAID    THE    FRIAR,    TAKING    DIEGO    BY    THE    COLLAR 
AND   LEADING   HIM  AWAY." 


DIEGO    PINZON.  19 

"If  I  said  'old  Bartolomeo, ' "  said  Diego, 
cajolingly,  "  you  must  believe  it  was  said  with 
affection.  Don't  you  know  how  we  sometimes  say 
old  when  we  wish  to  use  a  term  of  endearment  ?" 

Fray  Bartolomeo  smiled  on  the  other  side  of 
his  face,  but  turned  a  grim  eye  on  Diego. 

"  Gracias  for  thy  affectionate  remembrance  of 
me,  even  with  the  thought  of  the  scourge  in  thy 
mind ;  but  it  must  not  blind  us  to  the  fact  that 
thou  didst  purloin  a  choice  melon  from  the  gar 
den,  having  previously  flouted  Fray  Antonio,  and 
having  subsequently  seduced  thy  fellows,  and 
done  many  things  which  thou  shouldst  not  have 
done." 

"  It  was  very  wicked  of  me,"  said  Diego ; 
"  but  would  you  for  that  have  me  taken  from 
the  convent  and  carried  to  certain  destruction  ?" 

"  Tut !"  said  the  friar,  scornfully. 

"  But  he  will  do  it,"  whined  Diego.  "  You 
heard  what  the  man  said,  that  he  had  not  yet 
his  complement." 

"Tut!"  said  the  friar  again. 

"  I  see  how  it  is,"  said  Diego,  trying  a  new 
tack,  "  you  bear  me  malice  for  calling  you  old, 
and  you  would  have  me  removed  from  the 
bosom  of  the  church.  You  care  nothing  for  my 
future  welfare.  'Tis  unchristian  to  hate  me  so 
bitterly." 


20  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  Tut,  tut !  tut,  tut !"  said  the  worthy  friar,  un 
easily.  "  'Tis  because  I  cherish  thee  in  my  heart, 
thou  scape-grace!  that  I  will  not  do  thee  the 
wrong  to  punish  thee  insufficiently.  How  many 
times  have  I  praised  thee  for  thy  facility  in  de 
clension  and  conjugation  ?  How  often  have  I 
told  thee  that  thou  wert  the  best  student  of 
them  all  and  wouldst  be  a  credit  to  us  but  for 
thy  scampish  tricks  ?  How  often  hast  thou 
cajoled  me,  in  my  love  for  thee,  and  escaped  the 
punishment  thou  shouldst  have  had  in  justice  ?" 

"  You  have  indeed  been  very  good,"  said 
Diego,  watching  the  face  above  him  out  of  the 
corner  of  his  eye ;  "  why  then  will  you  wreck 
my  wretched  life  now  ?  I  tell  you,  Martin 
Alonzo  will  snatch  me  from  the  convent  and 
take  me  with  him.  I  feel  it  in  my  heart." 

There  was  uneasiness  in  the  heart  of  the  friar, 
for  he  loved  the  boy,  and  there  was  enough  in 
what  he  said  to  make  an  impression  on  his  fears, 
too.  Martin  Alonzo  might  do  the  thing  Diego 
dreaded,  or  pretended  to  dread.  Diego  saw  that 
the  good  man  wavered,  and  a  grin  overspread  his 
countenance.  The  friar,  chancing  to  look  down, 
saw  the  grimace. 

"  Thou  art  an  ungrateful  little  wretch !"  he 
said,  angrily.  "  Thou  wouldst  play  upon  my 
affection  for  thee,  and  then  laugh  at  my  credu- 


DIEGO   PINZON.  21 

lity.  I  think  sometimes,  Diego  Pinzon,  thou 
hast  no  heart  at  all.  Now,  say  no  more !  I 
will  not  listen.  I  caught  the  smirk  on  thy  face, 
and  it  hath  undone  thee  for  a  certainty.  Thou 
shalt  learn  the  iniquity  of  making  a  mock  of  thy 
elders.  Say  no  more !" 

Diego  hastened  to  remove  the  impression  the 
friar  had  received,  and  strove  with  much  ear 
nestness  and  artfulness  to  work  once  more  on 
the  feelings  of  his  teacher,  but  it  was  without 
avail. 

"When  he  pointed  out  with  great  particularity 
what  the  dangers  of  the  voyage  were,  Fray 
Bartolomeo  merely  gave  a  grim  assent.  When 
he  enlarged  on. the  pity  of  taking  him  from  his 
religious  studies,  the  friar  only  snorted  ominous 
ly.  In  short,  they  came  to  the  house  of  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon  and  went  in. 

Martin  Alonzo  was  evidently  saying  his  last 
farewells  at  that  moment,  and  was  in  great  haste 
to  be  away. 

"  Good-day,  Fray  Bartolomeo  !"  he  said,  in  his 
abrupt  fashion.  "  Whom  have  you  here?  It  is  my 
cousin's  son,  Diego  ?  Good-day  to  thee,  lad !  I 
suppose  thou  hast  come  to  bid  me  a  last  farewell 
like  these  women.  As  if  I  were  never  to  return ! 
Well,  adiosj  if  you  will.  Is  he  a  likely  lad,  Fray 
Bartolomeo  ?  How  come  on  the  humanities  ?" 


22  DIEGO   PINZON. 

His  rapid,  abrupt  manner  of  speaking  gave 
little  opportunity  for  an  answer ;  and  the  friar 
saw  that  it  was  a  poor  time  to  be  there  on  such 
an  errand ;  but  he  was  so  convinced  that  Diego 
would  be  unmanageable  without  a  chastisement 
and  warning  from  his  cousin  that  he  spoke  out 
clearly  and  to  the  point : 

"  The  humanities  come  on  well  enough,  and  no 
one  can  do  better  than  he  when  he  will ;  but  I 
have  come  to  tell  thee,  Martin  Alonzo,  that  he 
needs  a  strong  hand  to  correct  him,  or  he  will 
never  arrive  at  grace." 

"My  time  is  short,"  said  Martin  Alonzo, 
gruffly. 

"  It  needs  not  much  of  it  to  give  him  a  taste 
of  thy  vigor,  and  a  word  of  warning." 

"  A  sorry  sort  of  remembrance  he  would  have 
of  me  then,  reverend  brother." 

"He  will  honor  and  bless  thee  in  the  end," 
said  the  friar. 

"  What  hath  he  done  that  calls  for  my  inter 
vention  ?"  demanded  Martin  Alonzo,  eying  Die 
go  curiously. 

"  Much  in  the  past  that  hath  been  inadequate 
ly  dealt  with,  and  to-day  these  several  things : 
He  flouted  the  gardener,  Fray  Antonio,  when  he 
rebuked  him  for  stepping  on  his  melon  vines ; 
he-" 


"  'IT  is  MY  COUSIN'S  SON,  DIEGO?    GOOD-DAY  TO  THEE,  LAD  !' 


DIEGO   PINZON.  23 

"  Good  cousin,"  said  Diego,  hastily,  "  I  did  but 
as  Fray  Antonio  bade  me." 

"  What  did  he  bid  thee  do  ?"  demanded  Martin 
Alonzo. 

"  He  bade  me  think  twice  ere  I  set  foot  to 
ground  again,  cuffing  me  soundly  lest  I  should 
not  remember  his  admonition." 

"  Ah !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  a  twinkle  lighting 
up  his  stern  eye. 

Diego,  who  was  quickness  itself,  caught  the 
twinkle  and  went  on,  before  Fray  Bartolomeo 
could  continue  his  catalogue  of  misdeeds. 

"  And  then  I  begged  him  to  enlighten  me 
further,  since  I  was  not  certain  that  I  had  con 
strued  him  correctly." 

"  Thou  didst  flout  him,"  said  the  friar,  indig 
nantly. 

"  What  didst  thou  ?"  demanded  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  I  did  but  lift  my  foot  thus,"  said  Diego,  de 
murely  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  "  and 
count,  so :  '  I  think  once,  I  think  twice,  and  down 
she  goes.  I  think  once,  I  think  twice,  I  think 
once,  I  think  twice,'  and  so  on." 

It  was  so  comically  done,  Diego  being  a  capi 
tal  mimic  and  actor,  that  Martin  Alonzo  and  the 
women  of  the  household  laughed  uproariously  in 
spite  of  their  seriousness.  Even  Fray  Barto 
lomeo  was  fain  to  turn  his  head.  Diego  retained 


24  DIEGO    PINZON. 

his  innocent  countenance  ;  but  down  in  his  heart 
was  the  feeling  that  once  more  his  artfulness  had 
saved  him. 

"  'Tis  thus  he  ever  saves  himself  the  punish 
ment  he  deserves,  and  then  laughs  in  his  sleeve 
at  his  own  cajolery,"  said  the  friar,  resuming  his 
grave  face. 

"  He  is  a  very  cunning  knave,  then,  is  he  ?" 
said  Martin  Alonzo,  thoughtfully. 

"  If  thou  knowest  him  not,  he  will  cajole  thy 
anger  into  love  and  so  escape  his  just  dues." 

"  How  does  he  with  his  Latin  ?"  asked  the 
sailor. 

"  Excellent  well,  I  will  say.  He  hath  a  posi 
tive  gift  for  languages." 

"But  he  is  full  of  mischievous  pranks,  you 
say  3" 

"  Like  a  very  monkey  for  mischief." 

"And  he  needs  a  sobering  discipline?"  said 
Martin  Alonzo,  his  voice  taking  on  something  of 
its  sea  roar. 

"  Sadly,"  answered  the  friar,  trembling  a  little 
for  the  boy ;  "  but  do  not  forget  he  is  but  a 
child." 

"  How  old  is  he  ?" 

"  Fifteen,  good  cousin,"  said  Diego,  in  a  fright ; 
"  but  do  not  be  so  wroth  with  me.  The  worst 
that  I  did  was  to  break  bounds  that  I  might 


DIEGO    PINZON.  25 

come  into  port  to  see  you  start  on  your  great 
voyage,  good  cousin." 

"  And  purloined  a  melon  and  seduced  his  com 
rades  to  eat  it  with  him,"  interposed  the  friar, 
seeing  a  softening  of  Martin  Alonzo's  face,  ow 
ing  to  the  cunning  explanation  of  his  reason  for 
disobedience. 

"  Thou  hadst  an  interest  in  my  voyage,  then  ?" 
demanded  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  The  rogue  will  cajole  him  !"  murmured  Fray 
Bartolomeo,  shaking  his  head. 

"  Such  an  interest,  good  cousin,"  said  Diego 
enthusiastically,  at  the  same  time  chuckling  to 
think  how  he  was  like  to  escape. 

Martin  Alonzo  bent  a  singular  look  upon  him 
and  turned  to  the  friar. 

"He  hath  a  quick  wit  and  a  turn  for  lan 
guages,  you  say  ?" 

"  Both." 

"  But  to-day  he  hath  purloined  a  melon,  flouted 
one  of  the  brothers,  broken  the  bounds,  seduced 
his  comrades  into  evil,  and  perhaps  hath  done 
other  things  not  yet  known." 

"  Oh,"  whined  Diego,  immediately  cast  down, 
"  if  you  cannot  be  satisfied  with  what  is 
known !" 

"  And,"  went  on  Martin  Alonzo,  "  you  say  he 
hath  been  a  sore  trouble  in  the  past  and  that 


26  DIEGO   PINZON. 

you  have  felt  yourself  unequal  to  the  task  of  fit 
tingly  punishing  him." 

"  Even  so,  Martin  Alonzo,"  admitted  the  friar. 

"And  you  wish  for  him,  now,  a  punishment 
that  shall  be  a  warning  to  him  ?" 

"  I  love  the  youth,  Martin  Alonzo ;  but  it  is 
for  his  good,"  said  the  friar,  who  found  it  hard 
to  bear  witness  against  Diego. 

"  And  you  think  that  without  an  adequate  pun 
ishment  he  will  not  be  the  ornament  to  the 
church  that  he  otherwise  would  ?" 

"I  wish  I  could  think  differently,"  said  the 
friar. 

"  And  I  wish,"  said  Diego,  desperately,  having 
given  up  hope,  "  that  you  would  do  the  worst 
and  have  it  over.  I  can  stand  a  flogging  if  it 
must  be  ;  but  I  hate  suspense." 

"  You  shall  be  relieved  of  that,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  grimly.  "  I  have  thought  of  the  thing 
which  will  at  once  be  a  punishment  for  him,  a 
boon  to  me,  and  a  relief  to  you." 

Diego  held  his  breath,  his  first  fear  rushing 
over  him  in  an  instant. 

"  And  that  is —  ?"  asked  the  friar,  not  without 
uneasiness,  himself. 

"  He  shall  go  the  voyage  with  me,"  said  Mar 
tin  Alonzo.  "I  need  another  hand,  and  he  is 
agile  and  strong  and  will  suit  me  as  well  as  an- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  27 

other — better,  it  may  be,  since  he  hath  such  a 
strong  interest  in  the  voyage." 

"  It  must  not  be,"  said  the  startled  friar. 

"  It  shall  be,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  in  such  a 
tone  and  with  such  a  fire  in  his  eye  that  Diego 
felt  himself  unequal  to  any  words,  though  the 
friar,  indignant  at  the  trap  he  had  led  Diego 
into,  protested  vehemently. 

"  I  am  his  guardian,  I  think,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo.  "  You  brought  him  here  for  my  discre 
tion,  and  he  hath  not  yet  been  yielded  up  to  the 
church.  If  he  had  been,  I  would  be  the  last  to 
say  a  word.  He  hath  not  been,  and  he  goes  with 
me.  It  is  the  last  word.  Wife,  make  a  hasty 
bundle  of  the  clothing  of  our  son,  which  he  hath 
outgrown.  "We  have  but  a  minute  to  waste. 
Cousin,  look  not  so  glum  over  a  thing  which  so 
short  a  time  ago  awoke  thy  enthusiasm.  Thou 
goest  with  me.  Friar,  I  wish  you  good  -  day. 
Adios  /" 

Diego  said  not  a  word  to  his  cousin  ;  he  knew 
that  would  have  been  useless.  To  the  friar,  how 
ever,  he  addressed  a  reproach. 

"  I  told  you  how  it  would  be." 

"  Thou  didst  indeed,  my  son,"  said  the  worthy 
friar,  humbly.  "  But  do  not  despair,  for  I  will 
hasten  to  the  prior  and  have  his  intervention." 

Martin  Alonzo  laughed  in  his  beard,  and  Diego 


28  DIEGO    PINZON. 

felt  that  his  doom  was  sealed.  He  saw  the  friar 
go  out  of  the  house,  and  he  saw  the  hasty  prep 
arations  of  the  women  of  the  household  to  get 
him  an  outfit ;  he  listened  to  their  words  of 
comfort  and  hope,  and  to  his  cousin's  gruff  assur 
ance  that  he  would  not  be  taking  the  voyage 
himself, if  he  thought  there  was  danger  in  it; 
and  all  the  while  his  mind  was  only  on  the  words 
he  had  spoken  in  mischief  to  the  young  convict. 

"  He  is  very  young  to  die !" 

They  seemed  cruel,  now,  instead  of  only  mis 
chievous,  and  he  wished  very  heartily  that  he 
had  not  uttered  them.  And  so  he  sat  in  melan 
choly  silence  until  he  heard  Martin  Alonzo  say 
ing  to  him : 

"  Pick  up  thy  bundle,  cousin  ;  kiss  the  women, 
and  come.  Why,  how  glum  thou  art!  And 
thou  with  the  gift  of  language !  Come,  they  are 
waiting  for  us,  and  the  admiral,  Christoval  Colon, 
or  Christopherus,  as  he  and  thou,  being  learned 
in  Latin,  would  say  it,  will  be  impatient." 

Diego  heeded  not  the  banter  in  his  cousin's 
voice ;  but  resigned  himself  to  his  fate,  with  no 
attempt  to  hide  his  grief  and  terror.  He  took 
up  his  bundle  and  dejectedly  followed  his  cousin 
out  of  the  house.  Usually,  when  going  to  pun 
ishment,  he  would  bear  himself  as  jauntily  as  if 
going  to  a  feast — that  is,  when  all  hope  of  escape 


DIEGO    PINZON.  29 

was  gone  ;  but  on  this  occasion  he  had  no  spirit 
to  simulate  what  he  did  not  feel.  He  went  with 
drooping  head  and  lagging  step. 

There  was  no  doubt  that  some  of  the  people 
whom  they  passed  pitied  him;  and  there  were 
others  who  made  merry  as  he  had  done  with  the 
young  convict ;  but  both  sorts  were  alike  to  him, 
and  he  stepped  off  the  quay  into  the  boat,  feeling 
very  little  better  than  if  he  had  been  going  to 
execution. 

When  they  reached  the  Pinta,  as  the  vessel 
of  Martin  Alonzo  was  named,  a  sharp  word  from 
his  cousin  sent  Diego  over  the  side  in  short  order. 
He  was  just  conscious  of  some  conversation  tak 
ing  place  about  him — a  short,  quick  talk — and 
then  he  was  hustled  forward  and  told  to  put  his 
bundle  down. 

There  must  have  been  some  curiosity  under  his 
despair ;  for  he  remembered  afterwards  looking 
about  him  and  making  certain  observations  that 
did  not  in  the  least  tend  to  dispel  his  fears. 

The  vessel  on  which  he  found  himself,  and 
which  was  destined  for  the  most  perilous  voyage 
in  the  knowledge  of  man,  was  a  rickety  little 
craft  no  larger  than  those  which  he  had  seen 
sailing  along  the  shallow  coasts  of  Andalusia. 
It  had  no  deck  amidships,  and  carried  houses 
forward  and  aft  only  to  shelter  the  crew  and 


30  DIEGO    PINZON. 

captain,  and  to  contain  the  most   perishable  of 
such  freight  as  she  carried. 

She  was  old  and  dirty  and  leaky ;  the  crew 
was  sullen  and  sluggish ;  Martin  Alonzo  was 
harsh  and  violent ;  Diego  wished  he  had  never 
taken  the  melon  or  broken  bounds.  The  whole 
affair  was  wretched  and  terrible. 

There  were  about  thirty  persons  on  board  the 
vessel ;  but  it  was  plain  that  all  were  not  work 
ers  ;  and  afterwards  he  learned  that  some  of  them, 
were  simple  adventurers,  and  that  some  were  of 
ficers  sent  by  the  queen,  Isabella. 

The  other  two  vessels  had  already  lifted  anch 
or  and  were  dropping  down  the  stream,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  the  Plnta  was  doing  the 
same.  But,  even  when  the  anchor  was  up,  the 
shouting  of  his  cousin  —  the  roaring  rather  — 
did  not  cease,  nor  did  the  sullen  scuffling  of  the 
crew. 

He  had  no  idea  what  he  was  expected  to  do, 
and  he  was  in  no  mood  to  ask  anybody,  even  if 
he  had  known  whom  to  ask  ;  so  he  let  his  bundle 
lie  where  he  had  dropped  it  and  moved  over  to  a 
part  of  the  rail  which  seemed  to  be  out  of  the 
way  of  the  sailors,  and  leaned  over  it  in  the  dis- 
malest  manner  imaginable.  As  he  stood  there, 
he  was  conscious  of  the  approach  of  some  one, 
but  did  not  turn  to  see  who  it  might  be. 


DIEGO    TINZON.  31 

"  He  is  very  young  to  die,"  said  a  mocking 
voice,  and  he  knew,  before  he  looked  around, 
whose  the  voice  was  ;  but  he  turned,  nevertheless, 
and  looked  into  the  eyes  of  the  young  convict 
whom  he  had  gibed  in  those  same  words. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DIEGO  looked  into  the  eyes  of  the  boy  who 
stood  by  his  side,  and  in  their  sullen  depths  he 
saw  a  gleam  of  malicious  triumph,  which  he  did 
not  fail  to  understand.  The  boy  was  gloating 
over  the  plight  he  had  fallen  into. 

It  made  it  no  easier  for  Diego  to  submit  to  the 
mockery  of  the  other  that  he  was  being  treated 
to  his  own  sauce.  The  sauce  was  all  the  less 
palatable  that  it  was  of  his  own  making.  And, 
then,  to  have  it  served  by  a  miserable  jail-bird  ! 

"  You  will  do  well  to  keep  your  distance,"  he 
said  to  the  boty. 

"  Ha,  ha  !"  jeered  the  boy,  "  so  young  to  die !" 

"  Say  that  again,"  said  Diego,  "and  I  will  so 
do  to  you  that  you  will  forget  the  jail  you  came 
from." 

A  flush  rose  to  the  sallow  face  of  the  boy,  and 
he  said  fiercely  between  his  teeth  : 

"  So  young  to  die  !" 

Perhaps  you  know  how  boys  do  in  these  days 
on  such  occasions.  Four  centuries  have  made  no 
difference ;  boys  did  the  same  then.  Those  two 


HE  IS  VERY  YOUNG  TO  DIE,'  SAID  A  MOCKING  VOICE. 


DIEGO   PLNZON.  33 

forgot  their  fellow- voyagers  and  seemed  to  think 
they  were  alone  on  the  narrow  ledge  that  skirted 
the  rail.  They  glared  rage  and  defiance  at  each 
other ;  they  measured  each  other  from  head  to 
foot.  Then,  like  a  flash,  for  he  was  a  quick  boy, 
Diego  struck  the  other  boy  on  the  cheek. 

The  latter  was  knocked  off  the  rail,  but  was 
on  his  feet  and  up  again,  and  was  rushing  at  Die 
go,  when  a  strong  hand  caught  him  by  the  col 
lar  and  lifted  him  off  his  feet,  and  another  strong 
hand  fell  thwack,  thwack,  on  first  one  side  and 
then  the  other  of  his  head ;  and  then  he  was 
dropped. 

The  two  hands  belonged  to  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon  ;  and  as  he  aimed  at  impartiality,  he  had 
no  sooner  released  the  convict  boy  than  he  caught 
up  a  rope's  end  and  laid  it  lustily  over  Diego's 
shoulders,  thus  giving  his  cousin  an  opportunity 
to  form  an  estimate  of  the  difference  between 
his  method  and  Fray  Bartolomeo's.  The  advan 
tage  seemed  to  be  with  Martin  Alonzo,  for  Die 
go  had  no  need  to  pretend  a  distress  he  did  not 
feel.  His  anguish  was  genuine. 

"  Now,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  comprehending 
the  scowling  convict  as  well  as  the  squirming 
Diego,  "  before  this  happens  again  take  thought 
that  I  am  the  master  of  this  vessel  and  can  do 
all  the  fighting."  Then  he  looked  over  the  crew 
3 


3-i  DIEGO    PINZON. 

that  had  gathered  quickly  around,  and  added, 
meaningly,  "  All  the  fighting,  mind  you !" 

With  that  he  roared  out  another  order,  and  it 
was  a  marvel  how  the  sailors  jumped  to  his  bid 
ding.  As  for  Diego,  he  saw  in  his  cousin  an 
other  sort  of  man  from  the  gentle,  long-suffering 
Fray  Bartolomeo.  Nevertheless,  he  and  his  an 
tagonist  exchanged  looks  of  dislike. 

However,  they  said  nothing  to  each  other, 
though  each  thought  to  himself  that  a  more 
convenient  time  might  come ;  forgetting,  each, 
that  they  expected  never  to  see  land  again. 

Well,  the  little  disturbance,  odd  as  it  may 
seem,  did  much  towards  raising  Diego's  spirits. 
Besides,  he  was  not  much  given  to  low  spirits, 
and,  with  all  his  terror  of  the  voyage,  he  was, 
like  most  of  the  other  sailors,  willing  to  forget 
the  future  since  there  was  no  way  yet  apparent 
of  avoiding  it. 

He  had  come  on  board  so  soon  before  sailing 
that  it  had  not  been  possible  to  assign  him  to 
any  duty,  and  so  there  was  nothing  for  him  to 
do  but  watch  the  others  work,  or  to  look  over 
the  rail  at  the  shore  as  it  seemed  to  glide  slowly 

by- 

One  thing  that  he  did  especially  was  to  follow 
his  antagonist  with  his  eye,  as  he  went  about  his 
work ;  and,  in  spite  of  his  dislike  for  him  and 


'THEN,  LIKE  A  FLASH,  FOR  HE  WAS  A  QUICK  BOY,  DIEGO 
STBUCK  THE  OTHER  BOY  ON  THE  CHEEK." 


DIEGO  PINZON.  35 

prejudice  against  him,  he  could  not  help  admit 
ting  that  he  seemed  to  understand  the  business 
of  a  sailor  very  well.  And  once  he  heard  the 
man  who  had  gone  aboard  with  him  address  him 
as  Juan  Cacheco. 

When  the  Pinta  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  she  dropped  anchor  again  near  to  where 
the  Santa  Maria  and  the  Nina  were  anchored. 
The  former  was  the  admiral's  vessel  and  the 
largest,  and  the  latter  was  commanded  by  a 
brother  of  Martin  Alonzo,  and  was  the  smallest. 
The  largest  was  small  enough,  and  it  did  not  sur 
prise  Diego  to  hear  his  own  thought  uttered  in  a 
dismal,  surly  growl  on  the  other  side  of  him. 

"  Three  crazy  tubs  for  a  crazy  voyage !" 

Diego  turned  to  see  if  the  remark  was  ad 
dressed  to  him  and  to  see  who  had  uttered  it. 
It  had  evidently  not  been  made  to  him,  for  which 
he  was  glad  when  he  saw  the  ugly,  sullen  face 
of  the  companion  of  Juan  Cacheco  turned  tow 
ards  the  other  two  vessels.  He  started  to  move 
away  from  the  man,  when  the  latter  shifted  his 
gaze  from  the  vessels  to  him,  and  said,  in  a  tone 
of  half-surly  friendliness : 

"  I  think  we're  of  the  same  opinion  as  to  that. 
Eh,  boy  ?" 

"  I  know  naught  about  it,"  answered  Diego, 
without  making  any  effort  to  conceal  the  repug- 


36  DIEGO   PINZON. 

nance  he  had  for  the  man,  whom  he  did  not 
think  of  as  a  fellow- voyager,  but  only  as  a  con 
vict. 

"  Hah  !"  ejaculated  the  man,  showing  by  his 
sudden  change  of  tone  and  by  his  scowl  that  he 
comprehended  Diego's  feeling  towards  him.  u  'Tis 
the  cockerel  that  crowed  so  bravely  on  the  quay 
and  changed  his  tone  so  soon  after.  We'll  clip 
your  comb  before  this  voyage  is  half  done,  my 
little  bird,  or  my  name  is  not  Miguel  de  la  Yega." 

Now  Diego  was  as  hasty  of  temper  as  he  was 
lacking  in  prudence,  as  his  quick  and  taunting 
answer  showed. 

"  Miguel  of  the  plain,  or  Miguel  of  the  prison, 
it  is  all  one  to  me.  Only  I  Avill  say  this  to  you, 
that  you  may  find  it  harder  to  get  my  comb  than 
you  think.  It  may  not  be  so  easy  to  steal  other 
persons'  belongings  on  board  ship  as  you  found  it 
on  shore,  perhaps." 

"  Ah !  say  you  so  ?"  was  the  answer  of  the 
man,  his  brevity  and  lowering  brow  giving  Di 
ego  a  very  unpleasant  sensation,  and  making 
him  wonder  if  a  less  sharp  retort  might  not 
have  answered  his  purpose  as  well. 

He  certainly  had  not  made  a  friend  of  the 
man ;  but,  for  the  matter  of  that,  why  should 
Diego  Pinzon,  who  was  an  honest  boy,  with  good 
blood  in  his  veins,  and  something  of  a  scholar, 


DIEGO   PINZON.  37 

withal,  have  any  desire  to  be  friendly  with  a 
man  who  had  only  escaped  the  punishment  of 
his  crimes  by  his  willingness  to  risk  his  life  in 
the  perilous  undertaking  on  which  they  were 
both  embarked? 

He  moved  slowly  forward,  thinking  of  these 
things,  and  making  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
speak  to  his  cousin  and  demand  of  him  as  a  right 
that  he  should  not  be  obliged  to  have  his  watch 
with  any  of  the  convict  members  of  the  crew. 
He  had  a  very  lively  respect  for  his  masterful 
cousin,  but  he  could  see  nothing  unreasonable  in 
the  request  he  had  to  prefer,  and  so  looked  about 
to  see  if  there  might  be  an  opportunity  to  speak 
with  Martin  Alonzo. 

There  was  no  hope  of  finding  the  captain  of 
the  Pinta  in  an  idle  moment  at  such  a  stage 
of  the  voyage  ;  but  at  the  moment  Diego  looked 
around  he  saw  him  standing  aft,  gazing  aloft 
at  some  operation  which  his  new  crew  w^as  per 
forming  in  the  rigging,  and  performing  very  ill, 
if  one  might  judge  from  his  contracted  brow. 
He  gave  a  hasty,  frowning  glance  at  Diego  as 
he  approached,  and  then  turned  his  eyes  aloft 
again.  Diego  was  not  yet  to  be  put  down  with 
a  mere  frown,  and  so  held  his  place  in  front  of 
his  cousin  until  the  latter  looked  at  him  again 
and  said,  gruffly  : 


38  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  Well,  boy  ?" 

Diego  cleared  his  throat  for  such  a  speech  as 
he  would  have  made  at  the  convent  to  the  rev 
erend  prior. 

"  I  pray  your  pardon,  good  cousin —  " 

"  Are  you  so  in  love  with  the  rope's  end  that 
you  crave  more  of  it  ?"  interrupted  Martin  Alon- 
zo,  brusquely. 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,  cousin,"  stammered 
Diego. 

"  Then  you  shall,  and  that  right  speedily.  Look 
alive,  you  lubbers  aloft  there  !"  he  roared  to  the 
sailors  in  the  rigging.  "  What !  will  you  go  to 
sleep  on  the  yard  ?  I'll  be  the  death  of  some  of 
you  yet !  "Now  harkee,  boy,"  he  said,  with  an 
abrupt  turn  to  Diego,  "  Fray  Bartolomeo  said 
you  were  ready  of  tongue,  and  doubtless  'twas  a 
merit  in  the  convent ;  but  on  the  Pinta  'tis  only 
a  dangerous  gift.  I,  only,  have  the  privilege  of 
the  gift  of  language  here — all  the  others  of  you 
may  as  well  know  at  once  that  the  only  gift  you 
may  exercise  with  safety  is  that  of  readiness  of 
limb  when  I  give  the  word." 

"  Yes,  good  cousin,"  said  Diego,  more  meekly. 

"And  cousin  me  no  cousins,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo.  "I  am  your  captain  and  naught  else 
while  we  are  on  the  voyage  together.  And  now 
to  the  point.  What  word  have  you  with  me  ?" 


DIEGO   PINZON.  39 

Truly  here  was  no  soft-hearted  fray  to  be 
cajoled  with  ready  words.  Diego  choked  a  little 
and  then  came  to  the  point  more  directly  than 
ever  he  had  before. 

"  I  came  to  ask  that  in  arranging  the  watches 
you  would  put  me  with  the  honest  men  instead 
of  with  the  convicts." 

"  Who  speaks  of  convicts  ?"  demanded  the  cap 
tain,  sharpty. 

"  Why,  'tis  well  enough  known  that  the  crew 
is  partly  made  up  of  prison  men." 

"  Ay !  is  it  so  ?  And  you  are  so  nice  that  you 
must  choose  your  company,  eh  ?" 

"I  am  a  Pinzon,"  said  Diego,  with  a  touch  of 
offended  pride. 

"  A  Pinzon !  Ay,  to  be  sure  !"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  scornfully.  "  And,  prithee,  why  are  you 
going  this  voyage  ?" 

"  Because  you  forced  me,  and  no  other  why," 
said  Diego. 

"  Tut !  will  you  quibble  with  me  as  if  I  were 
a  fray  at  the  convent  ?  Why,  then,  did  I  force 
you  ?  Speak  up  like  a  Pinzon,  now !" 

"  Because  I  gave  the  good  brothers  so  much 
trouble." 

"  You  stole  a  melon,  did  you  not  3" 

"  Among  other  things,  I  did." 

"  And  if  you  stole  a  melon,  in  what  are  you 


40  DIEGO    PINZON. 

better  than  these  men  who  stole  purses,  per 
haps?  You  did  it  for  mischief  and  to  satisfy 
your  gluttony,  and  how  do  you  know  what  bit 
ter  temptations  these  men  had?  Now,  let  me 
hear  no  more  of  your  superiority.  The  men  who 
are  here  are  sailors,  and  I  know  nothing  else  of 
them  until  they  force  me  to.  As  for  you,  your 
watch  has  been  assigned,  and  your  place  is  where 
you  have  been  put.  Now  go  forward,  where  you 
belong." 

"Well,  there  was  that  in  Martin  Alonzo's  tone 
and  manner  that  kept  Diego's  ready  tongue  in 
check,  and  made  him  turn  and  go  forward  very 
meekly ;  though  not  without  a  tingling  sense  of 
shame  at  having  been  likened  in  so  public  a  man 
ner  to  the  convicts  he  had  so  despised. 

He,  indeed,  had  spoken  softly  enough ;  but 
Martin  Alonzo  had  not.  Perhaps  his  was  a  voice 
that  did  not  readily  lend  itself  to  a  whisper. 
Anyhow,  he  had  so  spoken  that  many  on  the 
little  vessel  had  caught  the  pith  of  the  whole 
conversation,  and  Diego  felt  very  certain  that, 
among  others,  Juan  Cacheco  had  heard  and  was 
grinning  with  glee. 

At  that  instant  there  was  nothing  he  would 
have  liked  better  than  to  have  had  a  pitched 
battle  with  that  lad  ;  but  he  had  learned  already 
to  exercise  some  self-restraint,  and  so  went  into 


\ 


'  NOW   GO   FORWARD   "WHERE    YOU    BELONG. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  41 

the  forward  cabin  without  even  exchanging 
glances  with  Juan. 

If  he  had  felt  disinclined  to  the  voyage  before, 
he  felt  much  more  so  now,  when  the  prospect  of 
the  future  offered  so  strong  a  contrast  to  the 
past,  which  he  had  brought  to  a  close  by  his  own 
folly.  More  than  once  that  night  he  had  it  in 
his  mind  to  slip  overboard  and  swim  ashore; 
but  the  folly  of  it  was  too  apparent  to  him  for 
him  to  act  upon  the  idea,  and  when  the  call 
came  in  the  morning  for  the  watch  to  go  on 
deck,  he  was  ready  with  the  others. 

It  seemed  to  him  when  he  looked  around  in 
the  dim  morning  light  as  if  especial  trouble  had 
been  taken  to  humiliate  and  cross  him ;  for  he 
found  himself  in  the  same  watch  with  Juan  Ca- 
checo  and  Miguel  de  la  Vega,  the  two  whom, 
of  all  others,  he  would  most  have  wished  to  avoid 
companionship  with. 

He  had  not  much  time  for  bitter  thoughts, 
however,  for  Martin  Alonzo  had  tumbled  on 
deck  at  the  same  time  with  the  sailors,  and 
had  at  once  begun  to  roar  out  order  after  or 
der ;  so  that  Diego,  unless  he  was  minded  to 
taste  of  the  rope's  end  again,  must  needs  jump 
to  the  word. 

Fortunately  for  him,  he  was  enough  of  a  sailor 
to  understand  the  orders  given,  and  was  nimble 


42  DIEGO   PINZON. 

enough  to  acquit  himself  tolerably  well— better, 
indeed,  than  many  of  the  men,  some  of  whom 
found  themselves  on  board  a  vessel  for  the  first 
time  in  their  lives.  Besides,  he  was  soon  en 
gaged  in  a  hot  rivalry  with  Juan  Cacheco,  each 
boy  striving  to  outdo  the  other  in  nimbleness 
and  expedition. 

The  Santa  Maria  and  the  Nina  showed  as 
much  life  as  the  Pinta,  and  it  did  not  take  long 
for  all  to  understand  that  the  little  fleet  was  now 
about  to  start  in  good  earnest  on  the  long  and, 
as  they  believed,  fated  voyage. 

Sullen  curses  and  deep  anathemas  were  mut 
tered  all  over  the  Pinta,  and  it  was  plain  to 
Diego  that  a  more  unwilling  crew  had  never  set 
sail.  He  might  have  wondered  that  the  men  did 
not  refuse  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  commander, 
had  he  not  gained  such  an  opinion  of  Martin 
Alonzo  as  rendered  such  a  wonder  idle.  More 
over,  he  knew  that,  despite  their  unwilling 
ness  to  go,  there  were  many  who  had  nothing 
but  imprisonment  to  hope  for  if  they  refused 
to  go. 

Still,  it  was  strange  and  terrible  to  him  to  hear 
the  men  all  about  him  cursing  as  they  worked 
at  getting  the  vessel  under  way.  Cursing  the 
voyage,  cursing  the  captain,  and,  most  of  all, 
cursing  Christoval  Colon,  the  mad  adventurer, 


DIEGO   PINZON.  4:3 

who  had  prompted  the  voyage,  as  they  declared, 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Evil  One. 

In  the  first  moments  of  despair  at  leaving  their 
native  land  behind  them,  the  men  had  made  lit 
tle  concealment  of  their  words ;  but  later,  Die 
go  noticed  them  whispering  together  in  knots, 
though  always  careful  to  give  Martin  Alonzo 
no  cause  for  anger. 

Diego  noticed,  too,  that  the  convicts  were  not 
the  only  ones  who  whispered  so  suspiciously  to 
gether  ;  though  of  what  was  being  said  he  could 
gain  no  notion,  for  at  his  near  approach  to  any 
one  of  the  whispering  groups  the  whispering 
would  instantly  cease,  and  he  would  be  regarded 
with  scowling  looks.  Indeed,  he  was  not  long  in 
discovering  that  he  was  in  disfavor  with  the 
majority  of  the  crew,  and  he  very  rightly  at 
tributed  that  fact  to  his  cousin's  loud  voice,  which 
had  betrayed  his,  Diego's,  feelings  towards  the 
convict  crew. 

His  situation  was  so  different  from  what  he 
had  always  been  accustomed  to,  that  it  threw 
him  into  a  very  unhappy  frame  of  mind.  His 
bold  temper  and  gay  spirits  had  always  made 
him  an  unquestioned  leader  among  the  boys  at 
the  convent,  and  his  quick  wit  and  readiness  to 
acquire  knowledge  had  made  him  a  favorite  with 
the  friars,  even  when  he  was  fullest  of  mischief. 


44  DIEGO   PINZON. 

Here  he  was  a  sort  of  outcast.  His  cousin  was  un 
reasonably  harsh  with  him ;  the  convicts,  whom 
he  had  scorned,  despised  and  disliked  him,  and 
the  honest  portion  of  the  crew  passed  him  by 
with  scarce  a  civil  word. 

The  result  of  it  all  was  to  make  him  very  sul 
len  and  dejected.  His  gay  spirits  deserted  him 
completely,  and  he  went  about  his  Avork  without 
a  word  for  anybody,  but  always  with  a  black 
look  ready  for  any  one  who  might  challenge  it, 
and  particularly  for  Juan  Cacheco,  who  took  a 
malicious  pleasure  in  the  misery  of  the  lad  who 
had  taunted  him  in  his  time  of  misery. 

Had  circumstances  been  different,  Diego  would 
have  gone  to  his  cousin  with  his  fear  of  some 
mischief  brewing  on  board  the  Pinta  •  but,  as  it 
was,  he  felt  that  am^thing  he  might  say  Avould 
only  be  received  with  rough  upbraiding,  and  so, 
in  spite  of  hearing  now  and  again  an  ominous 
and  threatening  word  dropped  by  the  whisper 
ing  men,  when  they  did  not  suspect  his  presence, 
he  kept  silence  and  let  the  talk  go  on. 

Mutiny  w^as  what  he  suspected ;  but  from  the 
few  words  he  had  overheard  he  was  quite  cer 
tain  that  the  only  object  of  the  mutiny  was  to 
force  Martin  Alonzo  to  return  to  land,  and  he 
was  too  little  in  love  with  the  voyage  to  care  to 
prevent  the  sailors  having  their  will  in  that  re- 


DIEGO   PINZON.  45 

spect.  His  thought  was  that  if  he  could  only 
get  back  to  Spain,  he  would  make  good  speed  to 
the  convent,  and  so  conduct  himself  that  there 
would  never  again  be  any  need  for  extreme  meas 
ures  against  him.  Ah,  if  he  could  but  be  in 
those  quiet,  peaceful  cloisters  again  ! 

Yes,  he  was  really  of  a  mind  to  let  the  mutiny 
progress ;  not  merely  because  he  had  no  sympa 
thy  with  Martin  Alonzo,  but  quite  as  much  be 
cause  the  terror  of  the  sailors,  which  had  been 
daily  growing  since  leaving  land  behind  them, 
had  communicated  itself  to  him. 

They  were  on  the  third  day  out  now,  and  the 
faces  of  the  men  wore  that  dull,  stolid  look  of 
terror,  despair,  and  threatening  which  seemed 
to  have  transformed  them  from  human  beings 
to  brutes,  a  likeness  that  was  further  borne 
out  by  the  constant,  low  mutterings  that  broke 
from  their  lips  whenever  two  or  three  came 
together. 

Whether  Martin  Alonzo  suspected  anything 
or  not,  Diego  could  not  tell  by  any  sign  he  ever 
made.  The  burly  captain  went  about  the  deck 
always  in  his  masterful,  confident  way,  and  the 
men  were  too  much  afraid  of  him  to  give  him 
any  cause  for  complaint  against  them. 

On  this  third  day,  especially,  when  Diego  was 
satisfied  that  matters  among  the  sailors  were 


46  DIEGO    PINZON. 

drawing  to  a  head,  as  if  ripe  for  action,  Martin 
Alonzo  was  absolutely  free  from  any  sign  of 
suspicion.  There  seemed  a  storm  brewing,  and 
before  he  left  the  deck  at  night,  he  had  every 
thing  put  in  readiness  to  be  made  snug  and  tight 
at  a  moment's  notice. 

Diego  was  so  certain  that  something  would 
occur  that  night  that,  at  the  last  moment,  his 
resolution  to  remain  reticent  deserted  him.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  it  would  be  right  to  make 
an  effort  to  put  his  cousin  on  his  guard ;  and 
with  that  purpose  in  view  he  placed  himself 
nearer  aft  than  he  had  any  business  to  be,  in 
the  hope  that  Martin  Alonzo,  in  passing,  would 
give  him  the  opportunity  he  sought  for  speech 
with  him. 

Well,  Martin  Alonzo  saw  him ;  but  as  it  was 
a  part  of  that  worthy  sailor's  plan  to  give  Diego 
a  good  lesson  in  obedience  and  subjection,  he 
merely  noticed  him  to  snatch  up  a  rope's  end 
and  order  him  forward  with  a  sharp  blow  across 
the  shoulders. 

That  effectually  closed  Diego's  lips  to  him; 
but  as  he  caught  the  sound  of  a  jeering  laugh 
from  Juan  Cacheco,  as  he  passed  him,  he  turned 
fiercely  on  him  and  muttered  between  his  shut 
teeth : 

"  Your  turn  will  come,  you  prison  dog !" 


DIEGO    PINZON.  47 

"  And  so  will  yours ;  and  sooner  than  you 
think,"  was  Juan's  answer,  no  less  fiercely 
spoken. 

"  It  won't  be  too  soon,"  said  Diego. 

"  Ah !  won't  it  ?"  was  all  Juan's  answer ;  but 
it  had  an  ominous  tone. 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

ALTHOUGH  under  not  more  than  half  her  full 
spread  of  sail,  the  Pinta  was  dashing  freely 
through  the  constantly  roughening  water,  re 
sponding,  like  the  good  sailer  she  was,  to  the 
freshening  breeze. 

Night  had  come  on  with  a  black  sky,  and  it 
was  only  now  and  then  with  the  utmost  diffi 
culty  that  the  lights  of  the  other  vessels  could 
be  seen,  rising  out  of  the  darkness  for  an  instant 
only  to  be  engulfed  as  if  forever. 

All  through  his  watch,  Diego  had  divided  his 
interest  between  these  appearing  and  disappear 
ing  lights  and  the  possibility  of  some  action  on 
the  part  of  the  conspirators  on  the  Pinta.  His 
anxiety  on  that  score  had  been  sharpened  not  a 
little  by  the  ominous  tone  of  Juan  Cacheco's 
words  to  him. 

But,  alert  as  he  was,  nothing  occurred  that  was 
in  the  least  suspicious,  and  his  watch  was  relieved 
without  anything  having  taken  place  to  justify 
his  fears ;  and  as  his  belief  was  that  the  man 
Miguel  was  at  the  head  of  whatever  plot  there 


DIEGO   riNZON.  49 

was,  he  felt  reassured  when  he  saw  him,  after  a 
few  muttered  words  with  one  of  the  new  watch, 
plunge  into  the  close  cabin  where  the  men  crowd 
ed  together  to  sleep. 

The  company  of  those  who  disliked  him,  wheth 
er  they  were  asleep  or  awake,  was  never  pleasant 
to  Diego,  and,  moreover,  the  bad  air  and  odors 
of  the  close  cabin  were  almost  sickening  to  him, 
though  a  good  sailor ;  so  he  did  not  follow  his 
watch  into  shelter,  but  determined  to  remain  on 
deck  as  long  as  the  rain,  which  threatened,  held 
up. 

With  this  intention  he  crept  silently  to  a  cor 
ner,  where  a  coil  of  rope  offered  a  support  for 
his  head,  and  curled  up,  intending  to  sleep  there. 
It  is  easy  enough  to  imagine  what  thoughts  must 
have  come  to  the  desolate  and  lonely  yet  high- 
spirited  boy  as  he  lay  there,  clinging  to  his  coil 
of  rope  to  steady  himself  under  the  increasing 
motion  of  the  boat.  The  bitterness  of  the  pres 
ent  was  mingled  with  regretful  thoughts  of  the 
happy  past. 

The  night  was  fresh,  but  not  really  cold— not 
cold  enough,  anyhow,  to  prevent  his  sleeping 
where  he  lay,  and  he  had  already  dozed  and 
opened  his  eyes  twice  or  thrice,  when  it  seemed 
to  him  that  something  like  an  animal  stole  past 
him,  and  he  stared  with  wide  eyes  to  see  what 
4 


50  DIEGO    FINZON. 

it  might  be,  or  to  determine  whether  or  not  he 
had  been  merely  dreaming. 

Not  quite  dreaming,  nor  yet  wide  awake. 
Something  had  passed  him  with  a  stealthy  step 
and  crouching  body,  and,  dark  as  the  night  was, 
he  could  distinguish  a  human  form ;  and,  indeed, 
what  other  living  thing  was  there  on  board  the 
vessel?  Dislike  is  sometimes  keener  than  even 
love,  and  it  was  this  that  led  Diego  to  the  quick 
conclusion  that  the  crouching  figure,  moving  so 
softly  and  cautiously  aft,  was  that  of  Juan  Ca- 
checo.  And  it  seemed  to  his  strained  eyes  that 
there  was  a  gleam  of  a  knife-blade  once  when  a 
lantern  swung  around  the  foremast. 

His  first  thought,  with  a  gulp  of  terror,  was 
that  the  convict  boy  was  stealing  aft  with  the 
intention  of  murdering  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon ; 
but  then,  though  the  idea  was  not  an  irrational 
one,  he  reflected  that  it  was  not  hkely,  since  the 
after-cabin  was  too  full  of  friends  of  his  cousin 
to  make  the  thing  possible  for  a  boy  to  accom 
plish.  And  yet  Juan's  errand  must  be  a  wicked 
one,  or  he  would  not  go  about  it  in  such  fash 
ion. 

But  be  it  what  it  might,  Diego  was  determined 
to  understand  it,  and  with  that  idea  was  rising 
softly,  when  a  new  terror  was  added  to  the  first 
by  the  sudden  apparition  of  a  man  skulking  along 


DIEGO    PLNZON.  51 

the  opposite  side  of  the  vessel.  And  there  was 
something  about  the  movement  of  the  man  that 
made  Diego  fancy  at  once  that  he  was  Miguel 
de  la  Yega. 

Some  evil  it  certainly  was  that  took  these  two 
wretches  out  on  deck  when  they  should  have 
been  asleep  in  the  forecastle.  Diego  was  a  brave 
enough  boy,  and  at  this  moment  was  nerved  by 
the  desperate  feeling  that  his  own  safety — life, 
perhaps  —  depended  upon  his  action;  but,  not 
withstanding,  a  chill  of  fear  crept  over  him  as 
he  stole  from  his  shelter  by  the  coil  of  rope  and 
followed  the  dim  figure  of  Juan. 

He  wondered  at  first  that  none  of  the  sailors 
of  the  watch  challenged  the  two- skulking  figures; 
for  it  was  inconceivable  that  they  had  not  yet 
been  seen  by  some  one.  Then  it  came  over  him, 
with  a  new  accession  of  terror,  that  all  of  the 
watch  must  be  in  collusion  with  Miguel  and 
Juan. 

And  if  that  were  so,  might  not  their  errand 
be  the  murder  of  his  cousin  ?  But  no,  it  seemed 
so  unreasonable  that  they  should  attempt  that, 
with  the  cabin  so  full  of  friends  of  the  captain. 
However,  he  was  deter  mined',  to  watch  Juan,  who 
had  paused  for  some  reason ;  and  if  he  saw  him 
turn  into  the  cabin  door,  he  would  throw  him 
self  on  him  and  shout  for  help.  He  would  have 


52  DIEGO    PINZON. 

done  that  anyhow,  but  he  was  afraid  of  making 
a  mistake  and  of  thus  calling  down  on  himself 
the  wrath  of  his  cousin. 

Juan  had  stopped,  evidently  to  listen  for  some 
noise  from  the  cabin,  and,  as  if  reassured,  had 
gone  on  again.  Diego  saw  him  pass  the  cabin 
door  and  felt  relieved  of  his  greatest  fear,  but 
was  still  certain  that  some  evil  was  the  object  of 
this  stealthy  excursion.  Could  it  be  the  helms 
man? 

]STo,  that  was  improbable,  for  the  sea,  having 
grown  rough,  had  made  the  helm  so  difficult  to 
control  that  the  man  there  had  called  a  com 
panion  to  help  him,  and  it  seemed  unlikely  that 
Miguel  and  Juan  would  take  the  uncertain 
chances-  of  assault  on  two  able-bodied  men.  Be 
sides,  what  would  be  the  object,  since  it  was  more 
than  probable  that  the  two  men  were  in  sym 
pathy  with  whatever  plot  there  was  on  board  ? 

Indeed,  though  they  must  have  seen  Juan  and 
Miguel,  too,  they  paid  no  attention  to  them,  but 
kept  up  a  conversation  in  a  low  tone,  as  if  they 
stood  there  quite  alone.  "What  should  Diego  do  ? 
What  could  he  do  but  hide  in  the  shadow  of  the 
cabin  and  wait  ? 

And  so  he  waited  and  watched  Juan,  who  had 
crawled  to  the  starboard  rail,  and  was  exchano1- 

5  O 

ing  some  whispered  words  with  Miguel.     Then, 


DIEGO    PINZON.  53 

of  a  sudden,  Juan  rose  to  his  feet,  and,  to  Diego's 
eyes,  seemed  to  drop  over  the  side.  His  first 
impulse  was  to  cry  out  and  run  to  the  rail ;  but 
he  checked  that,  knowing  that  the  boy  could  not 
have  deliberately  jumped  overboard,  as  a  result 
of  all  his  mysterious  preparation. 

Again  the  impulse  was  strong  to  slip  into  the 
cabin  and  warn  his  cousin  that  something  un 
usual  was  going  on,  and  again  the  fear  of  being 
put  in  the  wrong  restrained  him,  and  he  did  noth 
ing  but  wait  for  something  else  to  happen  which 
might  elucidate  what  had  gone  before. 

Juan  was  gone  what  might  have  been  five 
minutes  before  his  head  appeared  above  the  rail 
again.  Miguel  at  once  rose  to  his  feet  and  helped 
Juan  carefully  to  the  deck,  the  men  at  the  helm 
studiously  keeping  their  eyes  turned  the  other 
way  all  the  while. 

What  did  it  mean?  What  had  been  done? 
What  ought  he  to  do?  It  seemed  incompre 
hensible  that  those  two  should  have  made  all 
that  mystery  for  nothing  but  to  enable  Juan  to 
idly  get  over  the  quarter-rail ;  but  what  object 
could  there  be  in  it  ?  Perhaps  there  was  a  port 
hole  through  which  the  knife  of  the  prison  boy 
could  be  thrust  with  fatal  effect !  Diego  shud 
dered  at  that  thought,  and  shrank  away  behind 
the  cabin,  feeling  that  he  might  have  been  wast- 


54  DIEGO   PINZON. 

ing  precious  time,  and  that  it  was  now  too  late 
for  him  to  do  any  good. 

But  at  least  he  could  brave  the  possible  dis 
pleasure  of  his  cousin  and  go  into  the  cabin 
to  ascertain  if  any  foul  deed  had  been  commit 
ted.  He  told  himself  that  he  would  do  so  as 
soon  as  the  two  conspirators  had  returned  to  the 
forecastle. 

He  stole  to  the  mast  and  crouched  at  its  foot, 
thinking  to  be  better  hidden  there.  Juan  ap 
peared  around  the  corner  of  the  cabin  on  the 
same  side  that  he  had  first  passed  it,  crouching 
by  the  rail  and  peering  on  every  side.  Sudden 
ly  he  stopped  and  stared  towards  where  Diego 
hugged  the  shadow  under  the  mast.  Diego 
waited  breathlessly,  intending  to  leap  towards 
the  cabin  at  the  first  sign  of  discovery. 

But,  after  a  minute  of  peering,  Juan  resumed 
his  progress,  and  Diego  turned  his  head  to  watch 
for  Miguel.  Dislike  and  ready  suspicion  had 
done  for  Juan,  however,  what  they  had  already 
done  for  Diego,  and  had  caused  him  to  recog 
nize  Diego  in  the  half-hidden  figure  at  the  foot 
of  the  mast. 

He  had  moved  on  as  if  freed  from  the  doubt  that 
had  made  him  stop,  and  then  he  turned  again 
quickly  and  had  leaped  on  Diego  from  behind ; 
so  that,  almost  at  the  moment  that  Diego  had 


DIEGO   PINZON.  55 

espied  Miguel  coming  along  the  starboard  rail, 
he  had  felt  himself  seized  by  the  neck  and  borne 
to  the  deck. 

Fear  and  anger  combined  gave  him  courage 
and  strength,  however,  and  he  twisted  under  the 
grasp  of  his  antagonist,  and  gave  utterance  to  a 
yell  at  the  same  moment  that  he  grappled  with 
Juan. 

"  Help,  Miguel !"  cried  Juan,  finding  himself 
unable  to  cope  with  Diego,  and  fearing  another 
yell  that  would  arouse  the  sleepers  in  the  cabin. 

And  before  Diego  could  utter  more  than  a 
hoarse  cry,  he  was  caught  by  the  neck  in  the 
strong  hands  of  Miguel,  and  despite  his  struggles 
was  in  a  fair  way  of  being  choked. 

"  "Who  is  it  ?"  he  heard  Miguel  whisper. 

"  The  boy  Diego,"  was  Juan's  answer. 

"  Ah !  and  he  was  spying  on  us  ?" 

"  I  think  so." 

There  was  an  instant  of  silence,  during  which 
Diego  felt  the  grasp  on  his  throat  relax,  and  he 
made  a  furious,  desperate  effort  to  free  himself. 

"  Ah !  would  you  ?"  said  Miguel,  angrily,  and 
once  more  tightened  his  grasp  on  Diego's  throat. 
Then  he  said,  suddenly :  "  The  little  spoil-sport ! 
The  best  place  for  him  is  over  the  rail.  Bear  a 
hand,  Juan,  and  we  will  send  him  to  find  better 
company,  since  he  seems  to  dislike  ours." 


56 


DIEGO    PINZON. 


"  What !  throw  him  overboard  ?"  demanded 
Juan. 

"What  else?" 

"  No,  no.  I  won't  do  it,"  was  the  hasty  an 
swer. 

"  Wny>  you  little  fool !  do  you  think  our  lives 
will  be  safe  if  we  leave  this  little  friar  to  tell  the 
captain  what  he  knows  ?" 

"  I  will  not  do  murder,"  said  Juan,  in  a  fright 
ened  tone. 

"  Then  out  of  my  way,  and  take  no  part  in  it. 
If  it  is  his  life  or  mine,  I  shall  not  take  long  in 
the  choosing.  You're  a  fool,  Juan." 

"  You  shall  not  do  it,"  said  Juan,  laying  hold 
of  Diego,  who  was  as  still,  now,  as  if  senseless, 
though,  in  fact,  he  was  cognizant  of  all  that  was 
going  on. 

"  Out  of  my  way,  boy  !" 

"I  will  cry  out  and  alarm  the  cabin,"  said 
Juan. 

Miguel  cursed  him  for  his  folly,  and  demanded 
what  he  would  have  done,  then. 

"  Make  him  promise  not  to  tell  a  word  of  what 
he  knows." 

"Ay!  he'd  promise  anything  for  his  life's 
sake,"  said  Miguel.  "So  much  for  having  a 
boy  to  work  with." 

"'He'll  keep  his   promise,"  said  Juan,  posi- 


DIEGO   PINZON.  57 

lively.  "  Let  him  speak  in  a  whisper.  Say, 
Diego!  will  you  promise  —  will  you  swear  on 
the  crucifix  not  to  speak  of  what  you  have  seen 
to-night,  or  of  what  you  suspect  ?  Let  him  speak, 
Miguel !" 

"  And  let  him  yell  out  and  arouse  the  cabin," 
retorted  Miguel,  in  a  surly  growl. 

"  If  he  tries  to  do  it,  throw  him  over,"  said 
Juan. 

Diego  shook  his  head,  as  well  as  he  could,  to 
intimate  that  he  would  not  cry  out.  Juan  seemed 
to  understand  the  movement,  and  again  urged 
Miguel  to  loose  his  grasp.  And,  indeed,  it  was 
about  time  he  did ;  for  Diego  was  losing  con 
sciousness.  Miguel  unwillingly  did  as  Juan 
urged  him,  and  the  latter  spoke  quickly  to  Die 
go. 

"  Will  you  swear  as  we  ask  you  ?"  he  said. 

It  was  a  minute  before  Diego  could  recall  his 
senses  to  make  a  reply.  Then  he  demanded 
brokenly  : 

"  Have  you  done  harm  to  my  cousin  ?" 

"  Not  a  thing  has  been  done  to  him,"  answered 
Juan. 

"  Have  you  taken  any  life  ?"  asked  Diego. 

"  Fool !  no.     Will  you  swear  ?" 

u  What  have  you  done  ?" 

"Holy  St.  Martin!"   growled  Miguel,   "does 


58  DIEGO    PINZON. 

the  little  priestling  think  we  are  confessing  to 
him  ?" 

"  You  will  learn  soon  enough  what  has  been 
done  if  you  will  swear ;  but  if  you  do  not  take 
the  oath  and  that  at  once,  it  is  like  you  will  not 
be  alive  to  learn,"  answered  Juan,  angrily. 

"  I  will  swear,"  said  Diego. 

"  Where's  a  crucifix  ?"  said  Juan  to  Miguel. 

"  You  may  be  sure  the  priestling  has  one," 
answered  Miguel.  "  And  let  me  warn  you,  boy," 
he  said,  savagely,  "  if  you  break  your  oath,  you 
shall  not  escape." 

"  Here's  my  crucifix,"  said  Diego,  "  and  if  I 
swear  I  will  keep  my  word.  Now  what  shall  I 
swear  ?" 

"  Swear  that  you  will  say  nothing  of  what  you 
have  seen  or  heard,"  said  Juan. 

"  Stop !"  growled  Miguel,  suspiciously,  "  do  not 
forget  that  he  is  a  fray,  or  hopes  to  be,  and  that 
it  is  his  trade  to  juggle  with  words.  Make  him 
swear  in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot  get  around  it." 

"  I  will  swear  honestly  what  you  like,"  said 
Diego,  indignantly. 

"  You  are  too  ready  to  swear,"  said  Miguel 
with  all  the  suspicion  of  ignorance. 

"  Hush !"  whispered  Juan,  suddenly.  "  There 
is  a  noise  in  the  cabin.  Swear  as  I  said,"  he 
ejaculated  hastily  to  Diego. 


"  'HUSH 


WHISPERED     JUAN.     SUDDENLY. 
NOISE   IN   THE   CABIN.'" 


'  THERE     IS     A 


DIEGO  PINZON.  59 

"  The  captain !"  muttered  Miguel  with  an  oath, 
and  he  and  Juan  crawled  away,  attempting  to 
drag  Diego  with  them. 

But  he  was  not  minded  to  bear  them  company, 
and  tore  away,  only  just  in  time  to  avoid  a  vi 
cious  stab  from  the  knife  that  Miguel  drew  from 
his  belt. 

"We  will  hang  for  it!"  he  heard  the  older 
convict  growl.  "Curse  you,  Juan,  for  a  soft 
hearted  fool !  Curse  you !" 

The  man  was  in  such  a  rage  that  Diego  ex 
pected  him  to  brave  all  consequences  and  rush 
after  him  ;  so  he  ran  aft  near  to  where  Martin 
Alonzo  was  standing,  and  waited.  Miguel  and 
Juan  had  disappeared  into  the  forecastle,  how 
ever,  and  he  was  not  molested. 

Martin  Alonzo,  like  the  thorough  seaman  that 
he  was,  had  been  waked  from  his  sleep  by  an 
unusual  motion  of  his  vessel ;  and,  as  he  had  lain 
down  in  the  full  expectation  of  being  disturbed 
by  the  coming  of  the  storm  he  had  foreseen,  he 
had  leaped  out  of  his  bunk  and  rushed  out  on 
deck.  His  first  thought  had  been  that  the  dis 
turbance  had  been  caused  by  the  storm ;  but 
when  he  reached  the  deck  and  discovered  that 
the  storm  had  not  yet  burst,  albeit  the  wind  was 
fresh  and  the  waves  running  high,  he  sprang  to 
the  men  at  the  helm  and  roared  out : 


00  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  What's  wrong  ?  Can't  two  of  you  hold  that 
helm  steady  ?  She  yaws  like  a  blind  mule  on  a 
hill-side.  Steady  there  !" 

He  pushed  the  men  angrily  away  and  caught 
the  helm  in  his  own  strong  hands,  and  braced 
his  feet  to  keep  the  rudder  steady.  Still,  there 
was  a  quivering,  unsteady  motion  to  the  vessel. 

"  Whose  watch  is  it  ?"  he  roared.  "  Is  it  yours, 
Lopez  ?"  as  the  third  mate  came  hurrying  aft. 
"  Have  you  turned  lubber  like  the  rest  ?  Have 
you  lost  your  wits  because  we're  three  days  out  ? 
How  long  has  she  been  yawing  like  this  ?" 

"  Just  commenced  it,"  was  the  surly  answer. 

"  What're  you  doing  for'ard?  Couldn't  you 
tell  that  something  was  wrong  with  the  steering- 
gear  ?  All  hands  on  deck  and  have  everything 
made  snug!  Jump,  now!  Let  go  the  main 
sheet  and  bring  her  upon  the  starboard  tack. 
Jump,  you  lubbers !  Do  you  think  I  want  her 
brought  about,  you  sea-calves  ?  There !  that 
steadies  her.  Here,  take  this  helm,  and  keep 
her  where  she  is." 

The  vessel  was  alive  almost  from  the  first  roar 
of  the  captain,  and  everything  was  being  done 
as  expeditiously  as  possible ;  although  most  of 
the  people  aboard  of  the  vessel  were  wondering 
what  was  the  cause  of  so  much  excitement. 
The  captain,  however,  gave  no  one  much  oppor- 


DIEGO    TINZON.  61 

tunity  for  reflection  ;  for  as  soon  as  he  had  given 
the  helm  into  other  hands,  he  had  issued  more 
orders  looking  to  lightening  the  canvas,  making 
all  snug,  and  to  keeping  the  vessel  steady. 

Diego  had  quickly  seen  that  there  would  be 
nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  take  his  part  in  the 
execution  of  the  orders  of  Martin  Alonzo,  and  he 
had  jumped  like  the  others  at  the  first  word. 
The  only  care  he  had  was  to  keep  away  as  far 
as  possible  from  his  two  recent  antagonists,  and 
this  he  accomplished,  notwithstanding  the  mani 
fest  efforts  of  Juan  and  Miguel  to  have  a  word 
with  him. 

lie  had  wondered  how  he  would  be  able  to 
keep  them  at  a  distance  after  the  excitement  had 
subsided ;  but  he  had  no  need  to  concern  himself 
about  that ;  for  no  sooner  had  Martin  Alonzo 
put  the  vessel  in  condition  to  hold  her  own  than 
the  storm  that  had  been  threatening  broke  upon 
them,  accompanied  by  sheets  of  rain,  forked 
streaks  of  lightning,  and  peals  of  thunder ;  so 
that  until  daylight  dawned  there  was  little  idle 
ness  for  any  of  the  crew. 

The  rudder  worked  so  badly  that  the  vessel 
would  not  head  as  she  was  put,  and  in  conse 
quence  shipped  so  much  water  that  all  hands 
were  kept  busy  bailing  her  and  pumping  too. 

When  morning  dawned,  the  first  thought  was 


62  DIEGO    PINZON. 

of  the  other  vessels,  and  great  was  the  relief  to 
see  them  laboring  in  the  great  waves,  not  far 
away  ;  though  in  the  event  of  danger  to  the 
Pinta  the  others  could  have  done  nothing  for 
her  in  such  a  sea.  Still,  there  was  some  comfort 
in  the  companionship  of  the  vessels.  What  Die 
go  thought  most  of,  however,  when  the  first 
streaks  of  dawn  lighted  up  the  gray  Avaste  where 
sky  and  water  wrere  hardly  distinguishable,  was 
that  now  his  life  would  be  safe  from  Miguel. 

He  had  made  no  effort  to  have  any  communi 
cation  with  his  cousin ;  for  that  efficient  sailor 
seemed  to  know  what  was  wrong  better  than  he 
could  have  told  him,  and  any  information  he 
could  have  given  seemed  to  him  superfluous. 
He  felt  sure,  of  course,  that  whatever  had  hap 
pened  had  been  the  result  of  the  action  of  Juan ; 
but,  as  no  danger  seemed  to  threaten  in  conse 
quence,  he  decided  that  it  would  be  wisest  to 
keep  silence.  He  knew,  too,  that  everything  he 
did  was  watched  by  Miguel. 

The  Pinta  was  quite  bare  of  canvas  by  this  time, 
and  was  laboring  frightfully.  Martin  Alonzo  had 
made  several  efforts  to  ascertain  what  was  wrong 
with  the  steering-gear ;  but  without  result,  since 
it  was  dangerous  to  go  over  the  side  during  the 
gale,  and  he  had  determined  to  postpone  his  in 
vestigation  until  the  storm  had  abated. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  63 

All  this  while  he  had  been  without  food,  even 
when  the  sailors  had  been  supplied  with  theirs, 
and  as  the  wind  was  now  blowing  steadily  from 
one  quarter,  he  left  his  brother,  Francisco  Martin 
Pinzon,  in  charge  of  the  deck  while  he  went  for 
a  hasty  bite  of  something. 

He  had  hardly  taken  two  mouthfuls,  however, 
as  it  seemed,  when  the  vessel  suddenly  shud 
dered  from  stem  to  stern,  and  in  a  moment  more 
was  rolling  like  a  log  in  the  trough  of  the  sea. 
With  two  leaps  he  was  out  of  the  cabin  and  at 
the  helm. 

Something  in  the  gearing  had  snapped  and 
the  rudder  was  useless.  It  looked  as  if  the  ves 
sel  would  swamp  in  another  minute.  The  water 
poured  over  her  low  rail,  and  yards  dipped  into 
the  waves  at  each  roll. 

No  man  on  board  expected  to  survive  that 
hour,  and  more  than  one  who  had  not  prayed 
for  many  a  year  knelt  where  he  clung  to  some 
rope  and  tried  to  recall  the  forgotten  words. 

Diego  found  himself  side  by  side  with  Juan 
Cacheco. 

"  You  did  this,"  he  cried,  furiously. 

"  I  didn't  expect  this,"  answered  Juan,  his 
face  blanched  with  terror. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IT  was  very  fortunate  for  the  well-disposed 
few,  as  well  as  for  the  disaffected  majority  of  the 
crew,  that  the  Pinta  was  commanded  by  so  able 
a  sailor  and  so  cool-headed  a  man  as  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon. 

Many  another  man  at  such  a  time  would  have 
been  utterly  at  a  loss  what  to  do  ;  but  Martin 
Alonzo  acted  with  a  promptness  that  gave  the 
impression  that  he  had  been  prepared  for  this 
very  emergency. 

He  did  not  merely  issue  his  orders  in  quick 
and  precise  terms,  but  bore  a  hand  in  the  execu 
tion  of  the  more  pressing  duties,  and  so  animated 
the  terrified  sailors  that  they  took  heart  to  act 
briskly  and  in  sympathy  with  his  efforts.  Drags 
were  hurriedly  prepared  and  thrown  over,  and 
after  a  time  of  doubt  and  fearful  anxiety  the 
little  vessel  swung  around  and  brought  her  head 
up  to  the  wind. 

There  was  no  hope  of  any  assistance  from 
the  other  vessels  during  such  a  high  wind  and 
rough  sea ;  but  Martin  Alonzo  had  the  distress 


DIEGO   PINZON.  65 

signal  run  up  as  soon  as  he  bad  secured  the 
safety  of  the  Pinta,  in  order  partly  to  explain 
why  he  did  not  continue  on  his  course,  and  also 
to  prevent  the  companion  vessels  from  leaving 
him. 

Providentially — it  seemed  as  if  Providence  in 
terfered  more  than  once  in  behalf  of  this  daring 
enterprise  —  providentially  the  wind  began  to 
abate  a  great  deal  of  its  violence  at  this  time ; 
and  although  the  waves  continued  to  run  very 
high,  they  were  less  dangerous  by  reason  of  no 
longer  curling  and  breaking. 

It  still  remained  a  hazardous  thing  to  get  over 
the  vessel's  side  to  examine  the  steering-gear  and 
rudder ;  but  Martin  Alonzo  had  such  courage 
and  such  confidence  in  his  strength  that  he  per 
formed  that  office  himself.  He  tied  a  stout  line 
about  his  body  and  slipped  it  up  under  his  arm 
pits,  and  then,  commending  himself  to  the  care 
of  his  brother,  climbed  over  the  rail. 

Diego  knew  that  it  was  inevitable  that  so 
shrewd  a  seaman  as  his  cousin  must  discover 
that  the  gear  had  been  tampered  with,  and  when 
Martin  Alonzo  disappeared  over  the  side  he 
looked  around  to  note  the  effect  on  the  conspira 
tors.  Many  of  the  sailors  looked  frightened,  but 
on  the  faces  of  Miguel  and  Juan  especially  he 
could  see  a  desperate,  hunted  expression,  as  if 


DIEGO   PINZON. 


they  believed  that  their  crime  would  certainly 
be  fastened  on  them. 

Diego  himself  was  not  without  a  deep  con 
cern,  and  his  face  was  as  pallid  as  any  ;  for,  now 
that  he  knew  the  danger  they  had  all  been  ex 
posed  to  by  what  Juan  had  done,  he  realized 
that  there  could  be  no  excuse  for  his  not  hastening 
to  inform  his  cousin  of  his  suspicions.  And  he 
knew  it  would  not  make  his  case  seem  any  better 
to  plead  that  his  cousin  had  repelled  him  so  often 
that  he  had  feared  to  warn  him. 

Presently  he  saw  Miguel  whisper  to  Juan,  and 
then  both  of  them  glanced  towards  him.  After 
that,  Juan  left  the  side  of  Miguel  and  made 
through  the  anxious  crowd  towards  him.  Now, 
the  last  thing  Diego  wished  was  any  intercourse 
with  either  of  those  two.  He  was  uncertain 
enough  of  his  own  position  not  to  wish  it  made 
worse  by  seeming  to  have  any  understanding 
with  them,  and  so  he  shifted  his  place  until  he 
was  as  near  as  he  dared  to  go  to  where  Fran 
cisco  Martin  Pinzon  stood. 

Perhaps  Juan  would  have  followed  him  there 
had  not  Martin  Alonzo  at  that  moment  lifted 
his  head  above  the  rail,  and  then  climbed  quick 
ly  on  deck.  His  brother  asked  him  a  question 
relative  to  the  nature  of  the  injury  to  the  rud 
der  ;  but  Diego  noticed  that  Martin  Alonzo 


"  MAKTIN    ALONZO   DISAPPEARED    OVER   THE    SIDE. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  07 

pushed  him  sternly  aside  and  stepped  forward  to 
where  he  could  sweep  the  waiting  crew  with  his 
keen  glance. 

It  seemed  to  Diego  as  if  that  stern  eye  were 
reading  every  face,  and  he  had  no  doubt  that 
he  had  betrayed  in  his  countenance  all  that  he 
knew,  when  the  glance  passed  over  him.  He 
looked  involuntarily  at  Miguel  and  Juan,  and 
could  see  that  they  were  in  the  same  dread  as 
himself,  and  that  the  former,  with  the  ugly  ex 
pression  of  an  animal  cornered,  was  feeling  nerv 
ously  of  the  handle  of  his  knife. 

The  look  they  both  shot  at  him  was  one 
of  mingled  inquiry  and  hatred,  and  he  knew 
that  Miguel  was  regretting  that  he  had  been 
prevented  carrying  out  his  murderous  design 
towards  him. 

It  was  as  certain  to  him  as  it  seemed  to  them 
that  he  would  be  questioned  by  his  cousin,  and 
his  dread  of  Martin  Alonzo  was  such  that  he 
caught  at  the  rail  to  steady  himself.  Martin 
Alonzo  had  other  work  to  do  first ;  the  rudder 
must  be  repaired  as  far  as  was  possible  before  he 
did  anything  else,  and  the  carpenter  was  called 
and  instructed  what  to  do. 

He  brought  his  tools  and  such  materials  as 
seemed  to  be  needed  and  went  over  the  rail. 
And  all  the  while  that  he  was  making  ready, 


68  DIEGO   PINZON, 

Martin  Alonzo  paced  back  and  forth  in  the 
limited  space  available  to  him,  never  taking  his 
stern  glance  from  the  crew,  which  stood  in  the 
waist  of  the  vessel  eying  him  with  evident  trepi 
dation. 

But  not  until  the  carpenter  had  made  all  his 
preparations  and  disappeared  over  the  rail  did 
the  captain  utter  a  word.  And  when  he  did,  it 
was  sternly  and  harshly  enough,  but  without 
that  roar  which  had  theretofore  characterized  his 
voice.  He  stepped  to  the  ladder  and  sent  a 
searching  glance  over  the  faces  turned  expect 
antly  upward  to  his.  Then  after  a  moment  of 
silence,  during  which  more  than  one  of  the  sail 
ors  caught  a  painful  breath,  he  spoke. 

"  A  foul  deed  has  been  wrought  here."  He 
stopped  and  waited  as  if  to  give  time  for  his 
words  to  be  fully  understood.  "  Some  scoundrel, 
for  whom  hanging  is  too  good,  has  wrecked  the 
rudder.  The  gear  has  been  cut  with  a  knife, 
and  the  rudder  is  separated  and  unhung."  Again 
he  stopped,  and  Diego  stole  a  frightened  look  at 
Miguel  and  Juan.  "  Every  life  on  board  has 
been  put  in  jeopardy.  It  is  only  by  a  mercy  of 
God  that  we  live  now.  It  will  be  only  by  a 
further  mercy  that  we  shall  continue  to  live. 
When  I  know  the  man  who  did  it,  I  will  hang 
him  there,"  and  he  pointed  with  flashing  eyes  to 


DIEGO  PINZON. 


60 


the  yard.  "  What !  because  ye  like  not  the  voy 
age  will  ye  seek  to  drown  us  all  ?  What !  do  ye 
think  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  is  to  be  frightened 
from  his  purpose  ?"  He  stopped  short  and  looked 
over  the  faces  as  if  he  would  find  one  that  ex 
pressed  such  a  belief. 

It  is  unlikely  that  he  saw  such  a  face ;  for  of  all 
there,  those  who  were  innocent  of  participation 
and  those  who  were  guilty,  there  was  not  one 
that  did  not  answer  his  glance  with  one  of  fear  or 
of  respect.  Once  again  before  he  spoke  he  swept 
the  crowd  with  his  eyes,  but  this  time  slowly. 
"  Diego  Pinzon,  come  hither  !" 
He  spoke  sharply,  shortly,  distinctly,  and  Die 
go  heard ;  but  it  was  not  until  he  spoke  again  that 
the  boy  found  strength  to  move.  It  was  then 
with  a  stagger  rather  than  with  a  walk  that  he 
went  to  the  foot  of  the  ladder  and  turned  his 
pallid  face  up  to  his  cousin. 

"  Up,  by  my  side !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  sternly. 
Diego  climbed  up  with  difficulty,  and  stood 
with  pale  face  and  beating  heart  by  the  side  of 
the  captain  of  the  Pinta.  Martin  Alonzo  eyed 
him  in  silence  for  a  few  moments,  and  the  crew 
waited  breathlessly  for  what  was  to  follow.  In 
that  brief  space  Diego  understood  that  the 
whole  crew  looked  upon  him  as  a  sort  of  spy, 
and  that  his  cousin  regarded  him  as  a  coward 


70  DIEGO    PINZON. 

who  could  be  frightened  into  telling  aught  he 
might  know. 

"  Now,  boy,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  "  you  know 
something  of  this  ;  tell  me  what  it  is.  Speak !" 

Diego  raised  his  eyes  imploringly  to  his  cous 
in's  face,  as  if  beseeching  him  not  to  force  such 
a  thing  upon  him ;  but  Martin  Alonzo  held  the 
safety  of  his  vessel  above  the  feelings  of  a  boy, 
whose  chief  merit  was  his  over  -  readiness  of 
speech  when  it  was  least  desired  of  him,  and  so 
he  repeated,  threateningly  : 

"  Speak,  or  I  shall  know  how  to  make  you !" 

Diego  drooped  his  head  and  was  silent.  Mar 
tin  Alonzo  thought  he  was  obstinate,  when  in 
fact  he  was  torn  between  doubt  and  anguish. 
What  was  his  duty?  The  great  muscular  hand 
of  the  captain  fell  upon  his  shoulder  and  gripped 
it  tight,  the  angry  man  not  realizing  perhaps  his 
own  energy,  and  causing  Diego  severe  pain. 

"  Will  you  speak  ?  You  had  tongue  enough 
a  while  since.  Speak,  I  warn  you  !" 

Martin  Alonzo  was  doubly  angry  now.  Angry 
at  what  he  believed  was  Diego's  obstinacy,  and 
angry  that  he  should  meet  Avith  a  check  before 
the  crew.  If  he  had  doubted  his  ability  to  make 
Diego  speak  he  would  not  have  essayed  it  so 
publicly ;  but,  since  he  had  essayed  it,  he  was 
determined  to  succeed ;  for  Martin  Alonzo  was 


DIEGO   PINZON.  71 

a  man  who  at  all  times  would  have  his  own  way, 
and  who  was  used  to  being  supreme  and  undis 
puted  when  at  sea  on  his  own  vessel. 

Diego  was  well  satisfied  that  nothing  on  the 
score  of  relationship  would  stand  between  him 
and  the  wrath  of  his  cousin  should  he  refuse  to 
speak  and  tell  what  he  knew.  It  was  true,  he 
might  lie.  How  should  any  one  know  that  he 
had  cognizance  of  what  had  happened  ?  Was  it 
not  more  likely,  indeed,  that  his  denial  would  be 
the  more  readily  credited  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
he  had  been  a  sort  of  outcast  among  the  crew? 
"Well,  he  did  not  even  think  of  lying.  A  lie  is 
the  coward's  refuge,  and  he  was  not  a  coward. 

He  was  pale,  he  trembled,  and  his  voice  was 
unsteady ;  but  when  he  looked  up  at  his  cousin 
his  eye  did  not  quail. 

"  I  had  naught  to  do  writh  it,  and  I  have  naught 
to  say,"  were  his  words. 

Martin  Alonzo's  face  grew  gray  with  sudden 
wrath.  He  was  in  no  mood  then  to  credit  Diego 
with  the  courage  he  had  before  denied  him.  He 
only  knew,  or  believed,  that  his  vessel  had  been 
put  in  jeopardy  by  some  miscreant,  and  that  the 
boy  before  him  knew  who  it  wras  and  refused  to 
divulge  his  knowledge.  Diego  was  no  more  to 
him  than  any  other  boy  on  the  vessel  would 
have  been. 


72  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  You  know,  and  you  refuse  to  tell !"  he  said, 
hoarsely.  "  Kow  I  ask  you  again,  and  I  bid 
you  think  twice  ere  you  answer." 

Even  at  that  moment — a  terrible  moment  to 
him,  with  his  fear  of  his  cousin — the  picture  rose 
in  his  mind  of  Fray  Antonio  bidding  him  think 
twice  ere  he  set  foot  to  ground.  Ah,  the  good 
fray !  the  sweet,  peaceful  days  forever  lost !  It 
had  been  so  funny  then ;  it  was  so  pathetic  now  ! 

"  Who — who  did  it  ?"  demanded  Martin  Alon- 
zo,  quivering  with  wrath. 

"  Why,"  cried  Diego,  with  sudden  indignation, 
"  would  you  make  a  spy  of  me  ?  They  all  hate 
me  now,  though  they  have  no  cause.  I  Avill  not 
give  them  cause.  I  have  naught  to  say," 

He  seemed  to  hear  a  murmur  of  approbation 
from  the  crew  ;  but  it  died  away  as  Martin 
Alonzo,  in  a  voice  hoarse  with  passion,  cried : 

"  Have  you  naught  to  say  ?  We  shall  see ! 
Lopez !  trice  him  up.  Though  he  were  my  own 
son,  he  should  not  brave  me  so." 

Diego  understood  the  meaning  of  that — they 
were  going  to  flog  him.  Alas  !  it  was  a  common 
enough  thing  in  those  brutal  days.  Diego  turned 
paler  than  before,  but  he  looked  into  the  angry 
face  of  his  cousin  and  said : 

"  And  this  is  how  you  keep  your  promise  to 
my  mother !" 


DIEGO    PINZON.  73 

«  Will  you  tell?" 

"  I  have  naught  to  tell." 

"  Then  you  shall  be  flogged." 

"  And  I  may  say  things  I  should  not,  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon  ;  but  the  shame  will  be  yours, 
not  mine,"  and  the  pallor  on  his  cheek  gave  place 
to  a  red  flush. 

"  To  the  mast  with  him !"  said  Martin  Alonzo, 
a  flush  showing,  too,  on  his  bronzed  cheek. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AN  audible  murmur  ran  through  the  crowd 
of  spectators,  and  Martin  Alonzo  knew,  without 
looking,  that  it  was  caused  as  much  by  the  well- 
disposed  as  by  the  disaffected  among  the  crew, 
and  he  was  certain  that  some  of  the  cabin  pas 
sengers  had  helped  to  swell  the  murmur ;  but  he 
was  not  the  man  to  deviate  from  his  intention 
for  the  opinion  of  others,  and  so  only  repeated : 

"  To  the  mast,  I  say  1" 

So  Diego  was  triced  to  the  mast  and  the  crew 
driven  in  a  body  forward.  The  flogging  would 
be  no  light  thing,  but  it  was  the  bitter  humilia 
tion  that  Diego  dreaded  most.  He  almost  wished 
Miguel  had  thrown  him  overboard  the  night  be 
fore. 

Miguel !  Yes,  he  was  suffering  this  for  him 
and  for  Juan.  He  had  not  taken  the  oath  they 
had  wished  him  to  swear,  and  yet  he  was  as  faith 
ful  to  them  as  if  he  had  done  so.  And  where 
were  they  now  ?  Were  they  going  to  see  him 
flogged  ?  Would  they  let  it  be  done  ? 

He  looked  despairingly  into  the  crowd  of  sail- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  75 

ors,  and  saw  many  pitying  faces,  but  not  theirs. 
He  thought  bitterly  that  they  might  have  given 
him  the  comfort  of  their  sympathy. 

How  could  he  know  that  at  that  moment  Juan 
was  struggling  in  the  strong  grasp  of  Miguel? 
How  could  he  know  that  when  he  had  been  hur 
ried  to  the  mast,  Juan  had  sprung  forward,  say 
ing,  "  They  shall  not  do  that." 

But  it  was  so.  Juan  had  first  watched  Diego 
with  fear  and  hatred  in  his  heart  for  him ;  but 
when  he  saw  and  understood  how  Diego  was 
making  a  sacrifice  of  himself  for  him  and  Miguel, 
for  two  persons  whom  he  disliked  and  whom  he 
could  be  rid  of  by  a  word,  the  convict  boy  was 
stirred  by  a  generous  feeling  that  made  him  de 
termine  that  Diego  should  not  be  flogged  for 
him,  and  so  he  had  muttered,  "  They  shall  not 
do  that,"  and  would  have  gone  up  to  Martin 
Alonzo  and  accused  himself.  But  Miguel  was 
made  of  baser  material  and  would  have  nothing 
of  the  sort. 

"  Fool !"  he  said,  "  what  would  you  do  ?" 

"  They  shall  not  flog  him.  I  know  how  he  will 
take  it.  The  shame  will  kill  him.  He  is  brave. 
I  will  not  see  it  done !" 

He  struggled  to  free  himself  from  Miguel,  but 
the  latter  placed  his  hand  over  his  mouth  and 
quickly  dragged  him  into  the  forecastle. 


76  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  Better  his  back  scored  than  our  necks  broken, 
you  fool !"  said  Miguel. 

"I  will  not  betray  you.  I  will  take  all  the 
blame,"  said  Juan.  "  Let  me  go.  I  will  cry 
out !" 

"  You  are  mad.  I  will  choke  you  if  you  do 
not  keep  still.  It  will  soon  be  over.  Let  us  be 
thankful  he  has  the  courage  to  stand  it." 

But  the  noble  generosity  that  swelled  the  boy's 
heart  would  not  permit  him  to  keep  still,  and 
while  he  seemed  to  acquiesce  and  submit  he  was 
only  gathering  strength  for  a  final  struggle,  so 
that  presently  he  wrenched  himself  free  and 
darted  out  on  deck  and  frantically  pushed  his 
way  through  the  crowd  of  sailors.  "When  he 
reached  the  mast,  however,  Diego  was  not  there 
any  longer.  He  did  not  know  how  time  had 
sped  while  he  was  struggling  with  Miguel,  and 
he  gasped : 

"  Have  they  flogged  him  ?" 

"  No,  they  have  taken  him  to  the  cabin,"  was 
the  answer. 

And  this  is  how  that  had  happened :  No  one, 
not  even  Francisco  Martin  Pinzon,  or  Garcia 
Fernandez,  the  steward  of  the  vessel,  and  a  man 
of  importance,  had  dared  to  interfere  to  save 
Diego  from  the  anger  of  his  cousin,  though  both 
desired  to  do  so.  But  while  Diego  was  being 


DIEGO   PINZON.  77 

tied  to  the  mast,  the  carpenter  raised  his  head 
above  the  rail  and  whispered  a  few  words  to 
Francisco  Martin,  which  he  repeated  to  Garcia 
Fernandez. 

They  both  looked  at  each  other  and  seemed 
to  gain  the  same  idea  at  once ;  for  both  sprang 
to  the  side  of  Martin  Alonzo,  and  Francisco  Mar 
tin  said  in  a  low  tone : 

"Forbear  flogging  the  lad,  brother;  the  car 
penter  has  imparted  such  intelligence  to  us  as 
puts  a  new  light  on  the  matter.  Let  us  to  the 
cabin." 

Perhaps  by  this  time  Martin  Alonzo  was  glad 
of  an  excuse  to  refrain  ;  for  he  turned  to  go,  first 
saying  to  the  third  mate  : 

"  Hold  your  hand  till  I  return." 

"  It  mi^ht  be  wise  to  have  the  lad  in  the  cabin 

O 

with  us,"  said  Garcia  Fernandez. 

"  Francisco  Martin,"  said  the  captain,  shortly, 
"have  him  in  the  cabin." 

So,  while  Diego  was  shudderingly  awaiting  the 
shameful  blow,  he  w^as  released  and  taken  into 
the  cabin,  where  his  elder  cousin  and  the  steward 
sat.  Martin  Alonzo  did  not  look  at  him,  but 
turned  to  his  brother  and  asked  : 

"  What  is  it  the  carpenter  says  ?" 

"  He  says  there  is  plain  evidence  that  the  rud 
der  was  tampered  with  before  ever  the  ship  left 


78  DIEGO    PIXZON. 

port,  and  that  it  is  a  wonder  it  did  not  give  out 
ere  this." 

Martin  Alonzo  knit  his  brow. 

"  That  should  have  been  discovered  before  we 
sailed.  It  was  gross  negligence  that  it  was  not," 
he  said. 

"So  that  you  do  not  hold  me  accountable," 
said  Francisco  Martin,  with  an  angry  flush,  "I 
will  agree  with  you." 

"  I  could  not  watch  everything,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  a  little  doggedly.  "  But  it  is  idle  to  cross 
words  on  that.  The  rudder,  it  is  like,  was  tam 
pered  with  before  we  left  port ;  but  it  is  certain 
that  a  knife  was  used  last  night  to  cut  the  gear ; 
for  the  cut  was  a  fresh  one.  Boy,  will  you  tell 
me  what  you  know  of  this  matter  ?" 

It  is  probable  that  Garcia  Fernandez,  who  was 
at  once  a  shrewd  and  a  kindly  man,  saw  a  look 
of  obstinacy  gathering  on  Diego's  face.  Cer 
tainly  the  boy  resented  the  tone  and  manner  of 
his  cousin,  and  was  ready  to  put  the  harshest 
construction  on  his  words.  The  steward  said 
hastily,  before  Diego  could  give  word  to  the 
answer  that  sprang  to  his  lips : 

"  Your  pardon,  Martin  Alonzo,  but  may  I  have 
a  word  with  the  boy  before  he  speaks  in  an 
swer  ?" 

"  Let  it  be  brief,"  was  the  gruff  assent. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  T9 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  Garcia  Fernandez  to 
Diego,  "whether  or  not  you  have  anything  to 
tell,  and  of  course  I  appreciate  your  unwilling 
ness  to  seem  a  spy  on  your  fellow- sailors ;  but 
this  is  a  matter  that  concerns  your  life  and  my 
life  and  the  lives  of  all  of  us.  Bethink  you,  Die 
go,  that  what  has  been  done  once  may  be  done 
again,  and  the  more  readily  that  it  goes  unpun 
ished  and  undetected  this  time;  and  the  next 
time  the  end  may  be  our  deaths.  In  that  case 
it  will  be  your  crime  as  much  as  that  of  the  man 
who  does  the  act.  To  refuse  to  divulge  what 
you  know  is  generous  and  brave,  it  may  be ;  but 
it  is  the  madness  of  generosity  and  bravery." 

Diego  could  not  but  be  affected  by  the  argu 
ment  ;  but  he  had  his  side  to  present,  too.  He 
looked  resentfully  at  his  cousin  and  said  : 

"  I  put  myself  in  my  cousin  Captain  Martin 
Alonzo's  way  yesterday  to  warn  him,  and  he 
thrust  me  aside  with  a  blow." 

"  How  was  I  to  know  what  you  had  to  say  ?" 
demanded  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  You  might  have  heard  me,  at  least.  But  no, 
you  could  not  grant  even  that  courtesy  to  my 
mother's  son.  I  did  not  come  this  mad  voyage 
to  please  myself,  and  I  like  it  not ;  but  I  would 
have  done  my  duty,  and  will  do  it  now  if  you 
will  but  let  me."  Garcia  Fernandez  motioned 


80  DIEGO   PINZON. 

him  to  hush,  pointing  to  the  gathering  wrath  on 
Martin  Alonzo's  face  ;  but  Diego  was  in  the  full 
tide  of  his  wrongs  and  was  not  to  be  hushed. 
"  You  have  forced  me  to  come,  when  I  prayed 
you  not ;  you  have  likened  me  publicly  to  a  thief 
and  a  convict ;  you  have  struck  me  unreason 
ably  ;  and  you  have  been  willing  to  put  a  felon's 
shame  on  me.  If  your  ship  had  gone  to  the  bot 
tom  it  would  have  been  your  own  fault  in  put 
ting  such  a  fear  on  me  that  I  could  not  tell  my 
plain  duty.  So  I  say  to  you  plainly,  I  know  who 
cut  the  gear,  and  I  will  not  tell  you !" 

There  Diego  stopped,  and  doggedly  shut  his 
lips,  while  Garcia  Fernandez  and  Francisco  Mar 
tin  looked  at  each  other  in  dismay. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PERHAPS  if  Diego  had  been  better  acquainted 
with  his  cousin  than  he  was,  he  would  not  have 
dared  to  brave  him,  though  the  provocation  had 
been  twice  what  it  was  and  his  own  indignation 
doubly  hot.  Garcia  Fernandez  and  Francisco 
Martin  knew  the  temper  of  the  captain,  and  they 
trembled  for  the  rash  boy. 

But  there  were  several  things  that  conspired 
at  that  moment  to  make  Diego's  defiance  less 
objectionable  than  at  another  time  it  would  have 
been.  Martin  Alonzo  realized  that  he  had  been 
unjust  to  Diego  from  first  to  last,  and  had  mis 
understood  him  ;  he  saw  that  he  had  been  impol 
itic — though  that  was  not  much  of  a  matter — 
in  trying  to  force  a  confession  before  all  the 
crew  ;  he  knew  now  that  the  guilt  of  the  culprit 
in  cutting  the  gear  had  not  been  as  great  as  he 
had  supposed  at  first — though  a  hanging  matter, 
too  ;  moreover,  he  was  a  bold  man  himself,  and 
liked  boldness  in  others,  and  particularly  in  Die 
go,  whom  he  had  supposed  to  be  a  spoiled  boy 
with  no  other  gift  than  that  of  talking  immoder- 
6 


82  DIEGO    PINZON. 

ately.  However,  he  was  not  going  to  yield  at 
once.  He  frowned  and  said  : 

"  You  are  not  talking  now  to  one  of  }Tour 
frays." 

"  I  would  I  were,"  answered  Diego,  quickly  ; 
"  I  should  have  some  hope  of  justice  then." 

"  Tut !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  and  his  brother 
and  the  steward  knew  by  the  half-smile  on  his 
face  that  there  was  no  longer  any  danger  for 
Diego,  "  that  good  Fray  Bartolomeo  told  the 
truth  when  he  said  you  had  the  gift  of  lan 
guage." 

"It  has  been  of  little  use  to  me  here,"  said 
Diego,  sulkily. 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,  say  no  more  about 
it !"  ejaculated  Martin  Alonzo,  gruffly,  but  not 
unkindly. 

"  Yes,"  said  Diego,  still  smarting  under  his 
wrongs  and  disregarding  the  warning  of  Garcia 
Fernandez,  "  that  is  just  it ;  you  put  upon  me 
and  then  deny  me  the  right  to  say  a  word  in  my 
own  behalf." 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,  say  no  more  about 
it,"  reiterated  Martin  Alonzo,  impatiently. 

"  Oh,  I  can  keep  silence,"  answered  Diego. 

Martin  Alonzo  laughed  in  spite  of  himself  at 
the  persistence  of  the  boy. 

"  No  one  would  credit  it  to  hear  you  now,"  he 


DIEGO    PINZON.  83 

said.  "  Well,  what  will  satisfy  you  I  Shall  I 
ask  your  pardon  in  set  words  ?" 

But  by  this  time  Diego  was  able  to  see  that 
he  had  come  off  marvellously  well,  and  that  he 
would  be  wise  not  to  push  his  cousin's  com 
plaisance  any  further.  Indeed,  the  moment  he 
was  assured  of  Martin  Alonzo's  kindly  feeling, 
he  lost  all  his  resentment,  and  with  true  boyish 
inconsequence  swung  around  from  sullen  anger 
and  defiance  into  a  gay  good-humor  that  showed 
itself  in  his  old-time  mischief.  He  drew  his  hand 
from  his  belt,  where  it  had  been  angrily  clenched, 
and  waved  it  in  imitation  of  his  cousin's  manner, 
and  said,  copying  his  tone  and  words : 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,  say  no  more  about  it !" 

Very  much  taken  aback  by  this  palpable  and 
clever  mimicry  of  himself,  Martin  Alonzo  bit  his 
lip,  and  then  burst  into  a  short  but  hearty  ha- 
ha-ha,  as  if  he  could  not  help  it ;  then  checked 
himself  and  held  out  his  hand,  saying  : 

"  There  !  take  my  hand  like  a  cousin  and  a 
friend,  and  go  your  way  for'ard  and  be  a  sailor 
again.  I  forgive  you,  and  do  you  do  the  same 
by  me,  and  forget  what  has  happened." 

"  Thank  you,  Martin  Alonzo,"  said  Diego,  tak 
ing  the  proffered  hand.  "  I  hope  I  shall  show 
you  how  good  a  sailor  I  can  be,  since  sailor  I 
must  be." 


84:  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"A  brave  lad  and  a  shrewd!"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  as  Diego  left  the  cabin ;  "  but,  now,  to 
this  affair." 

"  I  crave  your  pardon,  Martin  Alonzo,"  said 
Diego,  thrusting  his  head  in  at  the  doorway, 
"  but  I  have  taken  quick  counsel  with  myself, 
and  it  seems  to  me  there  is  something  I  may  tell 
you  without  harm  to  any  one." 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  friendly 
enough  now,  "you  mean  you  will  tell  of  good 
will  what  you  would  not  tell  perforce." 

"  It  may  be  that,"  answered  Diego,  looking  a 
little  shamefaced. 

"  Well,  tell  it,  and  let  us  be  thankful  that  you 
have  relented." 

"  You  may  laugh  as  you  will,"  said  Diego, 
quite  seriously ;  "  but  I  do  assure  you  that  you 
had  so  frightened  me  that  I  could  not  tell  right 
from  wrong,  and  could  only  see  that  I  must  not 
turn  informer.  You  will  understand  better  when 
I  tell  you." 

"I  was  wrong,  Diego.     Speak  freely  now." 

"  I  suppose  you  knew  as  well  as  I  that  the 
men  were  dissatisfied." 

"  I  had  been  stupid  else." 

"  But  I  was  certain  from  words  I  had  heard 
fall  that  something,  I  knew  not  what,  was  to  be 
attempted  last  night.  That  was  what  I  would 
have  told  you  had  you  permitted  me." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  85 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,  say  no  more  about  it," 
laughed  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  I  did  not  refer  to  it  in  reproach,"  said  Die 
go,  "  but  only  to  show  that  I  was  suspicious  and 
anxious ;  though  the  most  I  looked  for  was  a 
mutiny,  which  should  force  you  to  turn  back, 
and  that  I  would  not  have  been  unthankful  for, 
though  I  would  have  warned  you,  too." 

"  A  right-minded  youth !"  murmured  Garcia 
Fernandez. 

"  Last  night,"  went  on  Diego,  "  I  lay  out  on 
deck,  because  of  not  liking  the  forecastle,  where, 
besides  the  air  being  close  and  foul,  I  had  noth 
ing  but  black  looks.  While  I  lay  there  I  saw 
two  sailors  creep  out  and  make  their  way  aft,  one 
of  them  with  a  knife  in  his  hand.  I  followed 
softly,  thinking  they  meant  mischief  to  you." 

"  And  what  would  you  have  done  in  such  a 
case  ?"  demanded  Martin  Alonzo,  who  with  the 
other  two  had  listened  with  great  interest  to 
Diego's  tale. 

"  I  should  have  thrown  myself  on  him  and 
called  for  help,  the  moment  I  saw  him  go  into 
the  cabin." 

"  Tut !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  "  what  could  you 
do  against  him  ?" 

"  What !"  cried  Diego,  off  his  guard,  "  I  am 
his  master,  as  he  shall  learn  some  day." 


86 


DIEGO    PINZON. 


The  three  men  exchanged  meaning  glances 
that  told  Diego  that  he  had  betrayed  a  part  of 
his  secret.  He  was  at  once  furious  and  in  de 
spair. 

"  I  will  say  no  more.  'Tis  a  shame  to  trick 
my  honest  confidence." 

"  So  it  is,  Diego,  so  it  is  in  faith,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  hastily.  "  Believe  me,  I  will  take  no  ad 
vantage  of  what  has  slipped  you." 

It  was  very  plain  that  Martin  Alonzo  had  con 
ceived  a  sudden  and  strong  liking  for  his  young 
cousin,  and  was  disposed  to  humor  him.  Diego 
felt  it,  and  it  induced  him  to  continue  his  story. 

"  Well,  there  was  no  intention  of  hurting 
you  ;  but  I  could  not  make  out  what  was  intend 
ed  when  one  of  them  slipped  over  the  rail. 
However,  I  hid  myself  as  well  as  I  could,  mean 
ing  to  seek  you  as  soon  as  they  were  in  the  fore 
castle  again.  But  one  of  them  saw  me  and 
sprang  on  me.  The  other  came  to  his  assistance 
and  choked  out  the  cry  I  would  have  uttered. 
Then,  one  of  them  was  for  throwing  me  over  the 
rail,  fearing  for  their  lives  if  I  betrayed  them." 

"  I  should  have  hanged  them,"  interjected 
Martin  Alonzo,  grimly. 

"  The  other  would  not  permit  me  to  be  mur 
dered,  and  threatened  to  fight  and  cry  out  if  the 
design  were  persisted  in;  so  I  was  spared  on 


DIEGO    PINZON.  87 

condition  of  taking  an  oath  not  to  reveal  what  I 
had  seen." 

"  Well,  of  course,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  "  if 
you  took  an  oath  !" 

"But  I  did  not.  You  came  on  deck  then  and 
I  escaped  without  taking  the  oath." 

"  Then  why  did  you  not  tell  me  at  once  ?" 
cried  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  Why,"  said  Diego,  holding  up  his  head  proud 
ly,  "  if  I  had  taken  the  oath,  I  should  have  owed 
it  to  them  to  keep  silence  ;  while  not  taking  it,  I 
owed  it  to  myself,  and  that  was  more  to  me  than 
what  I  owed  perforce." 

He  looked  very  handsome  and  winsome  as  he 
stood  there  in  his  young  pride,  and  Martin  Alon 
zo  thought  so.  He  cast  an  approving  glance  at 
Garcia  Fernandez  and  Francisco  Martin,  and 
sprang  up  from  his  chair. 

"  Emhrace  me,  boy  !"  he  cried,  rapturously ; 
for  he  dearly  loved  a  brave  action  and  a  lofty 
spirit.  "  Thou  art  a  true  Pinzon,  and  I  am 
proud  of  thee.  There,  Diego,"  he  went  on,  "  if 
I  discover  not  Zipangu,  at  least  I  have  discov 
ered  thy  mother's  son,  and  that  will  be  some 
recompense.  Now,  go  for'ard,  and  ever  count 
me  friend.  I  would  not  have  had  thee  do 
otherwise,  and  I  thank  the  Holy  Virgin  that  I 
was  withheld  from  putting  that  shame  on  thee." 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

DIEGO  left  the  cabin  very  happy  in  the  praise 
of  his  cousin  and  in  the  fact  of  the  reconciliation 
that  had  taken  place  between  them  ;  but  there 
was  something  still  lacking  to  complete  happi 
ness,  and  that  was  the  good-will  of  the  crew, 
which  he  thought  he  deserved,  but  which  he  was 
not  certain  he  would  obtain. 

He  need  not  have  concerned  himself  about 
that,  however.  The  crew  had  seen  and  admired 
his  courage,  and  was  ready  to  welcome  him  with 
acclamation  or  with  sympathy,  whichever  seemed 
the  most  appropriate.  Only  Miguel  and  Juan 
knew  how  much  he  could  have  divulged ;  but 
there  had  been  so  many  in  the  secret  of  the  in 
tended  attempt  on  the  rudder  that  it  was  easily 
surmised  that  Diego  could  have  told  something 
harmful  to  them  if  he  had  been  willing. 

The  fact  that  he  had  not  been  willing,  pleased 
as  much  as  it  surprised  them,  and  the  dislike  for 
Diego  that  had  been  almost  general  among  the 
crew  had  been  quickly  and  completely  changed 
to  admiration  and  liking  ;  so  that  when  he  made 


"  'THOU  ART  A  TRUE  PINZON.  AND  I  AM  PROUD  OF  THEE.' 


DIEGO   PINZON.  89 

his  appearance  out  of  the  cabin  with  the  air  of 
being  freed  from  fear  of  the  flogging,  they  set 
up  a  shout  of  welcome  and  gathered  around  him 
the  moment  he  came  down  the  ladder  from  the 
poop -deck.  And  he,  in  his  pleasure  at  their 
good-will,  forgot  his  former  nice  distinction  of 
honest  men  and  convicts,  and  gave  his  bright 
smiles  right  and  left. 

"  Art  spared,  boy  ?"  said  one  old  sailor. 

"  Yes,  and  have  his  good- will,  though  I  be 
trayed  no  one — not  I." 

"  And  so  it  should  be,"  said  another ;  "  for 
you  showed  yourself  one  of  his  own  kind.  A 
brave  boy,  comrades !" 

"  Ay,  ay !  and  we  did  him  an  injustice." 

"  So  we  did,"  was  agreed,  "  but  we'll  make 
that  right." 

"  But  how  came  he  to  let  you  off  ?"  asked  a 
voice  that  Diego  knew  for  Miguel's,  though  the 
fellow  did  not  show  himself  inside  the  group, 
preferring  to  skulk  on  the  outer  edge. 

"  Why,"  answered  Diego,  a  little  hotly,  "  be 
cause  it  was  discovered  that  the  fellow  who  did 
the  trick  was  as  much  fool  as  knave ;  for  the 
rudder  had  been  fixed  to  break  down  ere  ever 
the  vessel  left  port.  And  I  must  say  it  is  well 
that  the  Pinta  had  so  good  a  captain,  or  we 
would  all  have  been  at  the  bottom  now.  I  tell 


00  DIEGO    PINZON. 

you  all  freely  and  frankly  that  I  like  the  voyage 
no  better  than  any  of  you ;  but  it  was  a  foolish 
and  a  knavish  trick  to  do  a  thing  that  might 
have  sent  us  all  to  feed  the  fishes.  I  wager  the 
one  who  did  it  was  no  sailor." 

"True,"  and  "That's  true,"  and  "He  says 
well !"  came  from  every  side  of  him,  and  Diego 
knew  he  had  made  no  mistake  in  putting  the 
matter  as  he  had. 

All  this  while,  of  course,  the  carpenter  had 
been  busy  at  the  rudder,  and  after  a  time  he 
came  up  and  reported  that  he  had  done  all  that 
could  be  done — a  matter  Martin  Alonzo  certified 
to  himself  by  going  over  the  rail  and  examining 
the  work.  "When  he  came  on  deck  again  he  said 
to  his  brother : 

"  Nothing  more  can  be  done ;  but  we  cannot 
go  far  in  this  plight.  Another  such  gale  would 
make  an  end  of  us.  I  would  I  could  talk  with 
the  admiral." 

Somehow  his  words  got  forward  among  the 
sailors,  and  there  were  very  few,  if  any,  among 
them  that  were  not  content  with  the  prospect 
of  having  to  turn  back.  And  Diego,  if  the  truth 
be  told,  was  as  pleased  as  any. 

It  was  still  too  rough  for  any  communication 
with  the  admiral,  and  so  there  was  nothing  for 
it  at  present  but  to  put  on  sail  and  proceed ;  but 


DIEGO    PINZON.  01 

that  did  not  disquiet  any  but  those  who  were 
not  sailors  ;  for  it  was  well  enough  understood 
that  Martin  Alonzo  was  only  keeping  on  until  he 
could  communicate  with  the  admiral,  Christoval 
Colon. 

The  sailors  had  fully  expected  some  sort  of 
harangue  from  Martin  Alonzo ;  but  he  main 
tained  what  seemed  to  some  of  them  an  omi 
nous  silence,  and  gave  his  whole  attention  to 
the  navigation  of  the  disabled  ship. 

Once  again  during  the  day  the  rudder  broke 
down  ;  but  the  sea  had  moderated  so  much  that 
it  was  repaired  more  easily  this  time  ;  though  it 
was  still  understood  that  nothing  permanent 
could  be  accomplished  without  seeking  land 
first. 

It  was  not  until  the  next  day  that  the  waves 
had  gone  down  sufficiently  to  render  intercourse 
between  the  vessels  possible  ;  though  the  Pinta 
had  approached  near  enough  to  the  Santa  Maria 
to  shout  across  the  water  the  nature  of  the  acci 
dent  that  had  disabled  the  former  ship. 

Martin  Alonzo  would  have  gone  aboard  the 
Santa  Maria,  but  the  admiral  thought  it  better 
for  himself  to  go  to  the  Pinta,  and  he  did  so 
soon  after  sunrise.  The  sailors  of  the  Pinta 
greeted  his  appearance  with  execrations — mut 
tered,  indeed,  but  deep  and  heartfelt ;  and  they 


92  DIEGO   PINZON. 

had  many  disparaging  things  to  say  of  him,  liken 
ing  him  to  a  madman  in  looks.  But  Diego,  who 
had  seen  him  often,  could  not  feel  as  they  did,  and 
thought  him  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  digni 
fied  of  men. 

He  retired  to  the  cabin,  taking  his  pilot  with 
him,  and  followed  by  Martin  Alonzo,  Francisco 
Martin,  who  was  pilot  of  the  Pinta,  and  by 
Garcia  Fernandez.  There  must  have  been  a 
serious  consultation  between  them  ;  for  they  all 
looked  grave  when  they  came  out.  When  the 
admiral  had  returned  to  his  vessel,  Martin  Alon 
zo  had  all  hands  called  aft,  and  they  went  read 
ily  enough  ;  for  they  were  hot  to  hear  what  had 
been  decided. 

Martin  Alonzo  stood  on  the  poop  and  waited 
silently,  until  all  the  sailors  stood  ready  to  hear 
him.  He  looked  very  stern  and  determined,  and 
some  who  were  more  acute  than  others  augured 
ill  for  their  hopes  of  a  return. 

"  If  I  had  discovered  yesterday,"  began  Mar 
tin  Alonzo,  in  a  very  uncompromising  tone, 
"  who  had  cut  the  gearing  I  would  have  hanged 
him  to  the  yard.  I  had  good  reasons  for  not 
pressing  the  matter.  !Nbw,  I  will  say  that  any 
similar  attempt  in  the  future  will  be  punished 
by  instant  death. 

"  So  much  for  that.     The  object  in  playing 


DIEGO    PINZON.  93 

that  fool's  trick  was  to  force  me  to  turn  back. 
You  are  all  hoping  that  I  will  turn  back.  I 
shall  not.  We  are  heading  now  for  the  Canary 
Islands,  where  a  new  vessel  will  be  found  to  re 
place  this ;  or,  if  that  cannot  be  done,  this  shall 
be  thoroughly  repaired  and  the  voyage  contin 
ued  to  the  end.  Or  at  least  until  we  have  gone 
seven  hundred  leagues  to  the  westward  of  An 
dalusia." 

He  stopped  as  if  he  believed  he  had  said  the 
last  possible  word  on  the  subject.  The  men 
looked  uneasily  at  each  other,  and  it  was  plain 
that  there  was  a  strong  feeling  of  dissatisfaction 
among  them  that  must  find  voice,  and  it  did  in 
the  person  of  a  grizzled  old  sailor,  who  thereto 
fore  had  had  as  little  to  say  as  any  one.  He 
knuckled  his  forehead  and  hitched  himself  a 
little  forward  in  the  group  of  his  mates. 

"  I've  sailed  more  than  one  voyage  with  you, 
Martin  Alonzo." 

"  So  you  have.     Well  ?" 

"  I  never  gave  trouble  ?" 

"  Never." 

"  And  don't  intend  to  now.  I  shipped  of  my 
own  free  will,  or  to  please  you,  which  comes  to 
the  same  thing ;  but  I  will  say  I  don't  like  the 
voyage  —  I  don't  like  it.  "Tisn't  natural.  I 
hoped  we  were  going  back,  I  did,  like  all  the 


DIEGO    PINZON. 


others  here,  and  I'd  like  nothing  better  than  to 
go  back.  Of  course  if  you  say  you  are  going  on, 
that  settles  it,  for  I  know  you;  but  don't  you 
think,  Martin  Alonzo,  it  would  be  fairer  to  let 
those  that  don't  want  to  go  get  off  at  the 
Canaries  ?  I  say  what  I  say  to  be  fair  all 
around." 

It  was  the  mildest  sort  of  protest,  but  it  was 
the  best  the  old  fellow  could  do  with  the  eye 
of  Martin  Alonzo  fixed  sternly  on  him  all  the 
time. 

"  No,  it  wouldn't  be  fairer  to  let  them  go," 
was  the  answer.  "  If  I  did,  I  could  get  no  others 
to  take  their  places.  Besides,  they  are  a  parcel 
of  children  who  will  thank  me  some  day  for  hav 
ing  made  their  fortunes  in  spite  of  them.  Why, 
men,  we  are  going  to  find  a  country  where  the 
houses  are  roofed  with  plates  of  gold  and  silver. 
Doesn't  that  tempt  ye  ?  eh  ?" 

"  We're  going  to  perdition,"  interrupted  a 
surly  voice. 

"  Bah  !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  flashing  his  eye 
over  the  men  to  find  the  owner  of  the  voice,  but 
not  succeeding.  "  Perdition  !  Do  you  think  I 
would  like  that  any  better  than  you  2  Have  I 
not  as  much—  more  to  lose  ?" 

"  Life  is  life  to  one  as  to  another,"  said  a  voice. 

"  A  coward's  life  is  worth  nothing,"  said  Mar- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  05 

tin  Alonzo,  scornfully.  "  But  there,  enough  has 
been  said.  We  go  the  voyage.  To  your  work." 

He  was  so  sharp  and  peremptory  that  it  was 
a  marvel  to  Diego  that  he  was  not  hated  by  the 
men  ;  but  it  was  not  so,  indeed.  However  much 
they  might  dislike  the  voyage,  and  there  was  no 
doubt  on  that  score,  they  greatly  admired  their 
masterful  captain.  A  few  there  might  have 
been  who  did  not,  perhaps,  but  they  were  hushed 
into  silence  at  the  first  complaint  against  him. 
It  was  Christoval  Colon  who  had  to  bear  the 
odium  of  the  forced  voyage. 

They  wrere  two  days  in  coming  in  sight  of  the 
islands,  and  a  glad  sight  it  was  to  them  all,  even 
though  they  knew  they  would  be  obliged  to  put 
it  behind  them  again.  During  those  two  days, 
and  in  fact  ever  since  his  reconciliation  with  his 
cousin,  Diego  had  studiously  avoided  Juan  Ca- 
checo  ;  for  as  he  had  no  friendly  word  to  say  to 
him,  he  preferred  not  to  say  any.  He  felt  bitter 
still  whenever  he  reflected  that  Juan  and  Miguel 
would  have  let  him  be  flogged. 

But  Juan  was  all  the  while  anxious  for  a  word 
of  explanation  with  Diego,  and  continued  to  seek 
it  even  when  he  saw  that  Diego  avoided  him. 
He  could  have  forced  a  conversation  at  any 
time  ;  but  what  he  had  to  say  needed  privacy, 
and  that  Diego  would  not  give  to  him.  The  ap- 


DIEGO    PINZON. 


proach  to  land  gave  Juan  the  opportunity  he  had 
sought,  however  ;  for  Diego  stood  alone,  gazing 
abstractedly  at  the  towering  peak  of  Teneriffe. 
Juan  stole  up  to  him,  and  there  was  something 
wistful  in  his  tone  as  he  said  : 

"  I  am  glad  you  were  not  flogged  that  day." 

Diego  turned  with  angry  start,  and  said,  quick 
ly  •' 

"  No  thanks  to  you  that  I  was  not." 

"  I  could  not—  "  began  Juan,  eager  to  justify 
himself,  when  Diego  broke  in  cuttingly  : 

"  Oh,  I  know  a  flogging  would  be  nothing  to 
you.  I  suppose  you  have  been  used  to  it." 

This  reference  to  his  prison  life  made  the 
blood  rush  in  a  red  tide  into  the  boy's  face.  He 
tried  to  speak,  but  could  not  find  the  words  read 
ily,  and,  while  he  was  struggling,  Diego  said,  bit 
terly  : 

"  I  owed  you  my  life  that  night,  but  you  owe 
me  yours  for  keeping  silence.  If  I  had  told,  you 
would  have  been  hanged  up  there,"  pointing  to 
the  yard  ;  "  so  we  are  quits.  I  owe  you  nothing 
and  you  owe  me  nothing  ;  and  I  hope  some  day 
to  show  you  what  an  honest  boy  can  do  to  a 
rogue." 

Juan  answered  never  a  word,  but  seemed  as  if 
he  were  choking  as  he  turned  and  walked  slowly 
away. 


IF    I    HAD    TOLD,    YOU    WOULD    HAVE    BEEN    HANGED    UP 
THERE." 


CHAPTER  X. 

IT  would  have  been  hard  to  guess  at  all  the 
different  emotions  that  wrought  within  the  heart 
of  the  convict  boy  when  Diego's  angry  and  cruel 
words  checked  his  generous  impulse  to  offer  his 
good-will. 

The  chief  among  the  emotions  at  first  was 
humiliation  ;  but  jostling  the  humiliation  were 
grief,  anger,  bitter  scorn,  and  regret  at  having 
given  room  in  his  heart  to  his  generous  impulse ; 
and  he  had  not  taken  ten  steps  away  from  Diego 
before  it  was  anger  that  had  control  of  him  and 
was  coloring  every  other  feeling.  He  would 
have  turned  then  and  said  something  bitter  to 
Diego,  but  he  was  accosted  by  Miguel,  who  had 
watched  him  anxiously  when  he  went  to  speak 
to  Diego,  and  who  had  grinned  unpleasantly  at 
his  rebuff. 

"  So,  the  pious  little  priestling  would  have  none 
of  the  jail-bird,  eh?"  said  Miguel,  in  a  tone  be 
tween  sneering  and  sympathy. 

"  Would  or  would  not,"  answered  Juan,  ungra 
ciously,  "  it  concerns  no  one  but  myself." 

i 


98  DIEGO 

He  had  resented  Diego's  injustice  and  had  just 
been  telling  himself,  with  bitterness,  that  it  was 
the  last  time  he  would  make  any  effort  to  do  a 
good  or  generous  thing ;  and  yet,  when  it  came 
to  it,  there  was  in  him  a  sudden  distaste  for  Mi 
guel's  kind. 

He  and  Miguel  had  become  acquainted  in  the 
prison,  where,  as  the  custom  was,  all  the  prison 
ers  had  been  herded  together.  The  man  had 
conceived  a  fancy  for  the  boy  and  had  given  him 
sympathy  and  encouragement,  and  the  boy,  in 
his  loneliness,  had  been  grateful.  Miguel  had 
little  but  wickedness  to  teach,  and  Juan  had 
been  so  cast  down  and  hopeless  that  he  had 
listened  and  learned.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not 
yet  love  wickedness  for  its  own  sake,  and  the 
effect  of  his  noble  and  generous  impulse  had  been 
the  infusion  of  a  new  and  better  spirit  in  him. 

It  is  probable  that  Miguel  had  an  undefined 
notion  of  the  change  that  had  taken  place  in 
Juan,  and  was  so  much  disturbed  by  it  that  he 
was  bent  on  bringing  him  again  under  his  influ 
ence.  Unfortunatety  it  was  a  good  time  for  an 
effort  of  that  sort. 

"  That  is  true,  too,"  said  Miguel,  without  show 
ing  any  vexation  ;  "  but  I  suppose  a  fellow  must 
care  a  little  if  his  friend  is  hurt." 

It  was  said  in  such  an  off-hand,  hearty  way 


DIEGO    PINZON.  99 

that  Juan  felt  ashamed  of  his  inclination  to  turn 
from  his  old  friend.  He  began  to  yield  in  a  sulky 
fashion. 

"  Who  said  I  was  hurt  ?"  he  demanded. 

"  As  if  it  wasn't  made  plain  enough !  Don't 
you  suppose  everybody  who  was  looking  could 
see  it  ?  That's  what  he  wanted,  the  little  priest 
ling!" 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Juan,  quickly. 

"  What  do  I  mean  ?"  Why,  can't  you  see  that 
he  wants  everybody  to  know  that  it  was  you  he 
kept  out  of  trouble  by  not  telling?  He  wants 
to  put  you  in  the  wrong,  so  that  he  will  be  the 
favorite  on  board." 

"  I  don't  see  but  he's  that  anyhow,"  said  Juan. 

"  Perhaps  he  is,"  retorted  Miguel,  "  and  isn't 
that  just  the  way  of  it  always?  He  is  honest, 
he  is,  and  you  are  only  a  jail-bird ;  and  they  all 
forget  that  it  was  you  who  were  to  do  the  trick, 
and  take  all  the  risk,  so  that  we  should  all  be  safe 
back  on  land." 

"  I'm  not  the  only  jail-bird,"  said  Juan,  an 
grily. 

"  What  difference  does  that  make  ?  The  other 
jail-birds  will  be  so  glad  to  make  friends  with 
the  honest  boy  that  you  will  get  the  cold  shoul 
der,  see  if  you  don't,  little  brother !"  Little  broth 
er  was  his  pet  name  for  Juan. 


100  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  I  don't  see  why  that  should  be,"  said  Juan. 

"  Weren't  you  trying  to  make  friends  with 
him  ?"  asked  Miguel,  cunningly. 

It  was  a  conclusive  argument,  and  for  a  mo 
ment  Juan  had  nothing  to  say.  Then  he  be 
thought  him. 

"  He  saved  my  life,"  he  said,  as  if  that  explained 
his  attitude  towards  Diego. 

"  Bah  !"  said  Miguel.  "  Hadn't  you  saved  his 
first  ?  If  it  hadn't  been  for  you  wouldn't  he  be 
over  there  now  ?"  jerking  his  thumb  towards  the 
water. 

"  Well,  he  said  we  were  quits.  I  saved  him 
and  he  saved  me." 

"  Just  his  mean,  sneaking  way,"  said  Miguel, 
with  a  show  of  indignation.  "  If  you  hadn't 
saved  his  life,  yours  would  never  have  been  in 
danger.  Saved  your  life !  As  if  it  were  any  more 
than  he  ought  to  have  done !  Bah !  the  little 
priestling !" 

It  was  a  very  plausible  argument  and  it  had 
weight  with  Juan.  So  Diego  was  ungrateful 
then !  And  that  was  always  the  way  with  your 
honest  folk !  All  right  then  !  The  more  he 
reflected  on  it,  the  more  bitter  he  was,  and 
Miguel,  seeing  how  it  was  working,  kept  a  dis 
creet  silence. 

"  Yes,"  said  Juan,  presently,  "  that  is  how  it 


DIEGO   PINZON.  101 

is.  Once  you  are  sent  to  jail,  it  doesn't  matter 
how  sorry  you  are  for  what  you  have  done,  the 
honest  folks  won't  let  you  be  anything  else  but 
a  jail-bird.  Why,  he  stole  something,  himself ; 
I  was  there  when  his  cousin,  Martin  Alonzo, 
said  so." 

"  And  so  was  I,"  said  Miguel.  "  A  pretty  fel 
low,  he,  to  hold  his  head  up  and  curl  his  lip  at 
you." 

"  Ah,"  said  Juan,  angrily,  "  my  turn  may  come 
yet!" 

"  And  so  it  will,  little  brother,"  said  Miguel, 
in  a  whisper,  "  if  you  will  do  as  I  bid  you." 

"  What  do  you  mean  P 

"  I  am  half  afraid  to  tell  you,"  said  Miguel,  as 
if  hesitating. 

"  Why  should  you  be  ?  But  if  you  don't  wish 
to,  don't." 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  said  Miguel,  "  that  you  are 
not  minded  to  turn  honest."  He  said  it  as  scorn 
fully  as  if  there  were  something  very  disgraceful 
in  honesty. 

"  Honest !  not  I.  And  if  I  wished  to  be,  how 
could  I?  But  anyhow,"  he  added,  on  second 
thought,  "what  do  you  mean?  I'm  not  going 
to  steal  anything.  Honest  or  not  honest,  I  don't 
like  stealing." 

"You're  very  particular,"   laughed  Miguel; 


102  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  but  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  stealing.  Wait 
till  you  get  ashore  and  try  to  earn  a  living  hon 
estly.  Only  wait  till  then,  and  we'll  talk  about 
stealing.  Oh,  no !  this  is  quite  another  matter." 

"Well,  what?" 

"  Do  you  wish  to  go  this  voyage,  or  not  2" 

"  You  know  I  don't." 

"Are  you  with  us,  then,  in  deserting?" 

"  Do  you  think  Martin  Alonzo  will  give  you 
the  chance  ?  I  know  him  better  than  that,"  said 
Juan. 

"We'll  make  the  chance.  Don't  fret  about 
that.  You  are  with  us,  then  ?" 

"  Of  course  I  am.  I  don't  see,  though,  how  you 
are  going  to  do  it.  What  is  your  plan,  and  how 
many  are  in  it  ?" 

"  I  can't  tell  you  the  plan  now,  but  I  Avill  the 
first  time  we  are  alone.  How  many  in  the  plan  ? 
Only  ten  yet ;  you  make  eleven.  Oh,  we  will 
never  go  this  voyage ;  and,  what  is  more,  you 
shall  settle  your  score  with  the  little  priestling." 

It  was  plain  enough  that  his  dislike  of  Diego 
was  as  great  as  Juan's  possibly  could  be. 

"Hm!"  grunted  Juan,  who  did  not  lack  for 
penetration,  "and  settle  yours,  too,  I  think; 
though  I  don't  see  why  you  hate  him  so." 

"Ah!  don't  you?  Well,  I  do.  It's  because 
he's  a  spoil-sport  and  wants  to  play  the  honest." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  103 

Miguel's  reason  was  genuine  as  far  as  it  went ; 
but  his  chief  grievance  against  Diego  was  the 
fear  that  he  was  in  a  fair  way  to  infect  Juan 
with  his  ridiculous  honesty.  He  was  relieved  of 
any  immediate  fear  of  that  now,  however,  and 
he  left  Juan  to  watch  the  nearing  islands,  while 
he  went  to  sound  more  of  the  men  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  proposed  desertion. 


CHAPTER   XL 

YEEY  beautiful,  indeed,  are  those  islands  which 
the  ancients  had  called  the  Fortunate,  but  which 
in  Diego's  day  were  known  as  the  Canaries.  Some 
of  them  rise  sheer  and  rugged  almost  from  the 
water's  edge,  others  are  mere  rocky  islets,  and 
others  again  are  like  rounded  hills;  but  with 
very  few  exceptions  they  are  all  verdure-clad  at 
the  base,  and  smile  with  cultivation  far  up  the 
steep  sides. 

To  the  sailors  of  the  little  fleet,  turned  aside, 
as  they  deemed,  from  certain  destruction,  the 
islands  seemed  a  thousand  times  more  beautiful 
even  than  in  fact  they  were,  and  there  is  little 
to  wonder  at  if  all  of  them  cherished  a  hope  that 
the  voyage  would  end  there. 

It  was  for  the  admiral,  Christoval  Colon,  to 
feel  a  foreboding  sorrow  at  the  sight  of  the 
lovely  islands.  He  could  depend  upon  the 
commanders  of  the  vessels  and  upon  some  of 
the  volunteer  adventurers ;  but  he  knew  as 
well  as  if  the  sailors  had  spoken  their  minds 
to  him  that  they  hailed  the  land  with  the  sole 


DIEGO   PINZON.  105 

hope  of  finding  a  refuge  there  from  the  terrible 
voyage. 

For  that  reason  he  had  held  counsel  with  his 
allies  and  had  adopted  plans  to  the  end  of  thwart 
ing  any  effort,  open  or  secret,  that  might  be 
made  by  the  sailors.  Therefore  it  happened  that, 
although  the  little  fleet  sailed  among  the  islands 
for  three  weeks,  there  never  once  came  an  op 
portunity  which  gave  Miguel  and  his  friends  an 
occasion  to  put  their  carefully  laid  plans  in  op 
eration. 

For  the  first  week  they  went  from  island  to 
island,  seeking  a  vessel  which  should  take  the 
place  of  the  Pinta ;  but  it  was  soon  demon 
strated  that  none  could  be  procured,  and  then 
Martin  Alonzo  said  plainly  to  the  admiral  that 
it  was  his  opinion  that  it  would  be  wisest  to  set 
tle  down  to  repairing  the  rudder  and  calking 
the  ship,  the  latter  being  very  leaky,  owing  to 
the  intentionally  faulty  work  of  the  men  em 
ployed  in  Palos. 

"  But  you  will  be  obliged  to  lay  up,  then,  and 
your  men  may  desert,"  said  the  admiral,  who 
had  no  other  fault  to  find  with  the  plan. 

"  Not  so,"  answered  Martin  Alonzo,  grimly ; 
"for  I  will  keep  them  all  hard  at  work,  and 
I  will  shoot  the  first  man  who  tries  to  run 
a\vay." 


106  DIEGO   PINZON. 

The  Nina,  too,  had  to  be  repaired ;  for  she 
was  a  bad  sailer  and  kept  the  other  two  vessels 
back  ;  so  it  was  determined  to  change  her  lateen 
sails  to  square  ones.  But  she  did  not  have  to 
lay  up  for  that ;  it  being  sufficient  if  she  lay  at 
anchor  in  smooth  water.  All  this  having  been 
determined  on,  Martin  Alonzo  called  his  men  aft 
and  said  to  them  : 

"As  you  very  well  know,  my  men,  the  Plnta 
is  unseaworthy  by  reason  of  her  broken  rudder 
and  her  leaky  hull.  We  have  tried  to  find  a 
vessel  to  replace  her,  and  have  not  been  able 
to  do  so.  Now,  we  must  careen  her  and  put  her 
in  order." 

With  that  he  stopped  and  looked  slowly  over 
the  faces  of  the  men,  and  then  added  with  a 
peculiar  smile,  and  the  placing  of  his  feet  a  little 
wider  apart,  as  if  settling  himself  more  squarely 
and  determinedly : 

"  I  see  that  many  of  you  have  hopes  of  desert 
ing.  Well,  I  shall  shoot  the  first  man  of  you 
who  tries  to  do  that.  My  men,  we  are  going 
this  voyage." 

He  laughed  like  a  man  who  had  checkmated 
another,  and  there  was  a  sheepish  exchanging  of 
glances  when  he  had  retired  to  the  cabin.  Only 
a  few  of  the  sailors  laughed,  and  they  did  so  not 
because  they  had  any  greater  relish  for  the  voy- 


DIEGO   PINZON.  107 

age  than  the  others,  but  because  they  thought 
it  very  shrewd  and  masterful  in  Captain  Mar 
tin  Alonzo,  whom  they  admired  more  than  any 
man. 

As  for  Diego,  he  marvelled  to  see  how  one 
strong-willed  man  could  constrain  so  many ;  for, 
though  a  guard  was  put  over  the  men  as  they 
worked,  it  was  plain  enough  that  if  there  had 
been  any  real  concert  among  them  they  could 
have  overpowered  the  guard  and  made  their 
escape. 

However,  nothing  was  done  in  that  direction, 
notwithstanding  many  urgent  entreaties  on  the 
part  of  Miguel ;  and  so  the  time  came  when  the 
Pinta  was  ready  to  set  sail  with  the  other  ves 
sels,  and  still  Miguel  had  neither  saved  Juan 
from  going  the  voyage,  nor  had  he  given  him 
his  satisfaction  on  Diego,  as  he  had  promised  so 
glibly. 

All  three  vessels  repaired  to  the  Island  of 
Gomera,  where  the  water  was  famous  for  its 
purity  and  quantity,  and  where  wood  for  the 
fires  was  to  be  obtained.  And  it  was  there  that 
some  things  happened  that  were  fraught  with 
interest  to  Diego  and  Juan  personally,  and  to 
the  voyage  as  well. 

The  Santa  Maria  and  the  Nina  reached  the 
island  before  the  Pinta.  and  were  the  first  to 


108  DIEGO   PINZON. 

be  through  with  taking  in  the  wood  and  water ; 
so  that  Martin  Alonzo,  who  never  liked  to  be 
behindhand,  did  all  he  could  to  hasten  his  oper 
ations.  He  had  but  one  more  load  of  water  to 
take  off,  and,  in  order  to  shorten  the  time  occu 
pied  with  that,  he  hit  upon  the  plan  of  leaving 
two,  whom  he  could  trust,  to  fill  the  casks  that 
were  still  empty,  while  he  went  with  the  other 
men  to  the  vessel.  He  cast  his  eye  over  the  men 
doubtfully,  and  then  called  Diego  and  Juan  to 
him. 

"  I  wish  somebody  to  fill  these  casks  while  we 
are  gone,  he  said.  "  You  two  boys  will  do  as 
well  as  two  men,  if  you  will." 

"  I  will,"  answered  Diego,  and  Juan  said  the 
same. 

"  And  you  give  me  your  word,  each  of  you, 
not  to  try  to  desert  ?" 

There  were  two  vessels  on  the  other  side  of 
the  island  that  would  have  helped  the  whole 
crew  desert  if  there  had  been  the  chance. 

"  I  give  my  word,"  said  Diego. 

"  And  I  give  mine,"  said  Juan,  whereat  Diego 
made  no  concealment  of  the  disdainful  curl  of 
his  lip,  as  if  the  word  of  Juan  was  not  worth 
the  taking. 

The  dislike  of  the  boys  for  each  other  had  only 
grown  during  all  the  period  of  the  stay  among 


DIEGO    PINZON.  109 

the  islands ;  for  Miguel  had  carefully  fanned  the 
flame  in  Juan  and  set  him  constantly  in  an  atti 
tude  of  defiance  to  Diego,  and  Diego  had  been 
ready  to  construe  the  most  innocent  glance  of 
the  eye  or  turn  of  the  hand  into  an  insult. 

Juan  said  nothing  at  first,  but  set  to  at  his 
cask,  unconsciously  letting  his  anger  urge  him 
into  such  rapid  movement  that  he  spilled  as  much 
as  he  put  in.  Diego  noticed  it  and  laughed  in  a 
very  unpleasant  fashion.  Juan  stopped  suddenly 
and  fixed  his  eyes  on  Diego. 

"  Some  day  I  will  make  you  laugh  on  the  other 
side  of  your  face,"  he  said. 

"  Some  day  ?"  sneered  Diego.  "  Why  not  to 
day?" 

Juan  looked  at  the  boat,  which  was  now  near 
the  vessel,  and  threw  down  his  bucket. 

"  I  am  ready  now." 

Diego  laughed  provokingly  and  went  on  bail 
ing. 

"  You  count  on  the  crew  seeing  us  and  coming 
to  stop  the  beating  I  should  give  you,"  he  said. 

"  And  you  are  a  coward  and  don't  dare  fight," 
said  Juan,  in  a  furious  temper. 

"  Will  you  wait,"  said  Diego,  all  of  a  tremble 
from  anger,  but  wishing  to  seem  greatly  at  ease, 
"  until  these  casks  are  full  2  Then  we  can  safely 
go  into  the  wood  yonder  and  have  it  out." 


110  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  You  hope  they  will  come  back  before  we 
have  the  casks  filled,"  sneered  Juan,  though  he 
did  not  believe  a  word  of  it. 

"  I'll  show  you  if  I'm  a  coward,"  said  Diego. 
"  At  any  rate,  I  would  not  let  another  suffer  for 
a  thing  I  had  done." 

That  was  the  last  word,  for  Juan  was  too  proud 
to  tell  Diego,  now,  that  he  had  tried  to  save  him 
from  the  flogging.  It  is  quite  likely  that  no  two 
boys  ever  filled  casks  with  such  expedition  as 
those  two  did.  Each  was  anxious  to  finish  first 
in  order  to  taunt  the  other  with  cowardice.  It 
was  Diego's  luck  to  be  first,  but  Juan  robbed 
him  of  the  joy  of  a  fling  at  him  by  tossing  his 
last  bucketful  into  the  last  cask  before  even 
ready-tongued  Diego  could  say  anything.  He 
led  the  way  to  the  woods,  however,  and  that  was 
something. 

Yery  little  of  the  modern  science  of  self-de 
fence  was  known  in  those  days.  If  men  fought, 
they  did  so  with  swords  or  other  similar  weapons. 
The  knives  which  the  boys,  in  common  with  all 
the  sailors,  wore  on  shipboard  had  been  taken 
away  by  Martin  Alonzo,  not  to  be  returned  until 
the  vessel  was  fairly  at  sea  again,  and  in  conse 
quence  the  two  enemies  were  forced  to  fight  as 
best  they  could. 

Diego  had  made  up  his  mind  to  this,  and  led  the 


NO    TWO    BOYS    EVER    FILLED    CASKS    WITH    SUCH    EXPEDITION 
AS  THOSE  TWO  DID." 


DIEGO    PINZON.  Ill 

way  to  where  there  was  a  sufficiently  large  open 
space  to  give  them  room  for  a  struggle.  There  he 
turned  and  faced  about,  putting  himself  on  guard. 
That  is,  he  stood  warily  watching  Juan,  who  had 
stopped  when  Diego  stopped,  and  then  had  taken 
two  steps  forward  until  he  was  at  a  little  more 
than  arm's-length  from  him. 

There  might  have  been  a  considerable  differ 
ence  between  the  two  boys  at  the  time  when 
they  first  went  aboard  the  Pinta ;  for  Diego 
was  then  fresh  from  good  living  and  plenty  of 
open-air  exercise,  while  Juan  was  but  just  out  of 
a  prison  where  he  had  grown  sallow  and  thin 
with  confinement,  scant  .^xl,  and  bad  air.  Now, 
however,  he  was  of  a  good  color,  and  he  had 
grown  robust  and  strong. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  boys  were  not  badly  matched  for  a  strug 
gle,  and  each  realized  it  as  he  measured  the 
other  in  the  moment  that  intervened  before  they 
threw  themselves  on  each  other. 

There  were  no  blows  at  first.  Striking  out 
from  the  shoulder  was  not  in  vogue  then.  They 
grappled,  and  each  did  his  best  to  throw  his 
antagonist,  the  mtentkv"  being  to  get  the  other 
down,  and  then  to  pummel  him  until  he  was  un 
able  to  fight  back. 

So  they  dug  up  the  soft  green  turf  with  their 
feet;  they  rocked  this  way  and  that;  they  swayed 
up  and  down ;  they  stumbled  over  roots  and 
against  trees ;  and  sometimes  Diego  would  go 
down  on  a  knee  and  squirm  up  again,  and  some 
times  Juan  would  go  down  on  a  knee  and  squirm 
up  again. 

Their  breath  came  pantingly  and  through  shut 
teeth,  and  their  eyes  glared  anger  and  hatred, 
and  they  looked  and  acted  altogether  more  like 
wild  beasts  than  like  human  creatures. 

Then,  suddenly,  they  tore   apart   from   each 


DIEGO   PINZON.  113 

other  and  stood  staring  fiercely  into  each  other's 
eyes.  Then  Diego  jumped  forward  and  struck 
Juan  over  the  eye  and  cried  "  Hah !"  with  joy  of 
what  he  had  done.  And  Juan  gasped  : 

"  It's  nothing.  There !  that's  for  you !"  and 
he  struck  out,  too. 

However,  he  missed,  and  Diego  struck  him 
again  ;  this  time  on  the  mouth,  so  that  presently 
a  red  stain  came  on  his  lips,  which  made  Diego 
wild  with  triumph,  and  made  Juan  wild  with 
rage.  Then  they  grappled  again,  and,  though 
both  were  trembling  with  exhaustion  and  excite 
ment,  they  hurtled  about  the  little  glade  more 
madly  than  before,  till  Diego  caught  his  heel  on 
the  projecting  root  of  a  tree  and  was  thrown 
backward. 

Juan  accelerated  his  fall  with  a  cry  of  triumph 
that  was  very  much  like  the  strangled  scream  of 
a  wild  animal.  Diego  was  stunned  a  little,  and 
for  a  moment  could  not  defend  himself  against 
the  savage  blows  that  rained  on  his  face,  each 
blow  being  accompanied  by  a  cry  that  seemed  to 
mean,  "  It  is  my  turn  now  !  it  is  my  turn  now !" 

But  after  a  while  Juan  grew  tired — too  tired, 
at  any  rate,  to  keep  up  the  stinging  blows — and 
he  held  Diego  pinned  to  the  ground,  his  face 
being  thereby  brought  within  a  few  inches  of 
Diego's.  The  latter  was  in  no  mood  for  yield- 
8 


114:  DIEGO    PINZON. 

ing ;  though  he  knew  he  was  at  the  mercy  of 
Juan,  and  could  be  punished  more  as  soon  as  the 
strength  of  the  latter  returned.  But  his  own 
was  coming  back  now,  and  he  would  make  a 
struggle  as  soon  as  Juan  changed  his  position  to 
strike  again.  At  any  rate,  he  would  never  ask 
for  mercy. 

In  the  meantime  the  breath  of  each  was  hot 
on  the  face  of  the  other,  and  their  eyes,  almost 
blinded  with  rage,  seemed,  nevertheless,  to  shoot 
out  sparks  of  fire.  Diego  made  a  sudden  effort 
to  throw  off  Juan.  Juan  gave  him  a  sudden 
blow  in  the  face  and  caught  him  again  so  that 
he  could  not  move. 

"Have  you  had  enough?"  asked  Juan,  who, 
even  at  that  moment  of  fury,  would  have  cared 
more  for  the  submission  of  Diego  than  for  any 
thing  else.  It  would  have  been  more  disgrace 
ful  to  Diego. 

"  No,  no,  no !"  screamed  Diego. 

"  I'll  pound  you  till  you  can't  see  nor  move," 
said  Juan. 

"  Do  it,  do  it !"  screamed  Diego,  almost  inartic 
ulately. 

"  You'll  show  me  what  an  honest  boy  can  do, 
will  you  ?"  said  Juan,  revengefully. 

"  Pound  me,  pound  me  I"  screamed  Diego,  as 
if  that  were  his  dearest  wish. 


DIEGO   PINZON.  115 

"  You're  a  thief  yourself,"  said  Juan. 

"  Jail-bird !"  screamed  Diego. 

"  I'll  kill  you,"  raged  Juan. 

"  Jail-bird,  jail-bird  !"  screamed  Diego. 

Juan  was  beside  himself ;  but  did  not  dare  to 
release  Diego  to  strike  him  again,  for  it  was 
plain  that  Diego  was  growing  stronger.  He 
could  beat  his  face  with  his  head.  Yes,  he 
could  do  that.  But  stop !  there  was  something 
better. 

"  Both  your  eyes  are  black,"  he  said,  taunt 
ingly. 

"  I'll  black  yours  some  day." 

"  Your  nose  and  your  mouth  are  bleeding." 

"  I'll  make  yours  bleed  some  day." 

"  They'll  know  on  board  that  I  did  it." 

Diego  had  no  answer  to  that.  He  could  only 
scream  his  rage  and  defiance.  But  they  would 
know,  they  would  know.  He  struggled  furious 
ly  ;  but  Juan  only  laughed  with  all  the  ugliness 
of  passion. 

"  You  can't  get  up ;  you've  got  to  listen  to 
me." 

"  Jail-bird !" 

Diego  knew  very  well  that  there  was  nothing 
hurt  as  much  as  that. 

"  You  are  a  thief,  too,"  said  Juan.  "  Martin 
Alonzo  said  so  and  you  could  not  deny  it." 


116  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  Never  a  jail-bird,"  answered  Diego,  as  if  the 
punishment  made  the  crime. 

"  You  are  worse,"  said  Juan ;  "  you  are  un 
grateful.  I  saved  your  life." 

"  I  saved  yours.     We're  quits." 

"  Mine  wouldn't  have  been  in  danger  if  I 
hadn't  saved  you." 

"  Why  don't  you  pound  me  ?"  sneered  Diego. 
"  You  don't  dare.  You  know  I'll  pay  you  when 
I  am  up." 

"  I  could  butt  you  with  my  head,"  answered 
Juan. 

Diego  had  thought  of  that,  too,  and  had  been 
afraid  Juan  would  think  of  it. 

"  Why  don't  you  do  it  ?"  he  demanded,  deter 
mined  to  be  defiant  to  the  last. 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  something.  When  they 
were  going  to  flog  you — 

"  You  sneaked  out  of  the  way,"  interrupted 
Diego,  sneeringly. 

"  I  tried  to  save  you,"  cried  Juan,  triumph 
antly. 

"  You  tried  hard,"  sneered  Diego  again. 

"  Miguel  held  me  at  first,"  said  Juan,  exultant 
ly,  knowing  surer  all  the  time  how  it  would  hurt 
Diego  to  know  it ;  "  but  you  may  ask  any  of  the 
men  if  I  did  not  get  to  the  mast  just  after  you 
had  been  taken  away." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  117 

"  When  you  knew  it  was  too  late,"  said 
Diego. 

"  You  know  better.  I  was  going  to  save  you 
the  flogging  by  telling  that  I  cut  the  gearing." 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Diego,  doggedly. 

"  Yes,  you  do,"  said  Juan,  "  and  I  am  going  to 
let  you  up.  I  hate  you,  do  you  hear  me  ?  I 
hate  you !  I  am  going  to  let  you  up." 

And  he  did,  as  if  he  could  see  the  struggle 
going  on  in  Diego  between  his  humiliation,  his 
anger,  and  his  sense  of  justice.  Diego  slowly 
rose  to  his  feet. 

"  Do  you  want  to  fight  any  more  ?"  asked 
Juan,  jeeringly. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Diego,  sullenly,  "  I  want  to 
fight  till  I  have  whipped  you." 

"  Come  on,  then,  if  you  can  see  out  of  your 
eyes,"  jeered  Juan. 

"  Hey,  there  !  you  two  have  had  enough,"  said 
a  man's  voice. 

They  both  thought  the  men  had  returned 
from  the  ship,  and  they  looked  to  where  the 
man  stood.  He  was  a  stranger  to  them.  They 
fancied  they  must  have  been  fighting  an  hour, 
when  in  fact  they  had  not  been  at  it  for  more 
than  ten  minutes.  Both  fighting  and  talking 
had  gone  on  at  a  rapid  pace. 

"  Well,  who  are  you  2"  asked  the  man,  with  a 


118  DIEGO   PINZON. 

short  laugh  of  amusement  at  the  sight  of  the 
two  bruised  faces.  "  I  should  say  one  of  you 
had  had  enough,  anyhow.  Do  you  belong  on 
that  ship  loading  water  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Juan  ;  for  the  ready-tongued 
Diego  had  been  silenced  by  the  reference  to  the 
plain  fact  that  he  had  been  having  the  worst  of 
the  fight. 

"  And  is  it  you  who  are  going  on  that  crazy 
voyage  in  search  of  Zipangu  ?"  inquired  the  man, 
who  was  evidently  a  sailor. 

"Yes." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  go  ?" 

"  Of  course  not,"  answered  Juan. 

"  And  you,"  said  the  man  to  Diego,  "  do  you 
wish  to  go  ?" 

«  No." 

"  I  thought  so.  Why  didn't  you  desert, 
then?" 

"  "We  did  think  of  it,"  answered  Juan ;  "  but 
the  captain  suspected  us  and  kept  us  under 
guard." 

"  Well,  you  have  the  chance  now,"  said  the 
man.  "  The  boat  is  only  half-way  back,  and  you 
have  only  to  come  with  me.  We  are  not  going 
on  any  search  for  Zipangu." 

"  I  pledged  my  word  not  to  desert,"  said  Die 
go,  his  bruised  face  robbing  his  proud  tone  of 


HEY,  THERE  !  YOU   TWO   HAVE   HAD  ENOUGH,    SAID  A 
ALAN'S  VOICE." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  119 

very  much  of  its  dignity  ;  "  but,"  he  added  with 
a  sneer,  "  he  will  go  with  you." 

Juan  flushed  and  looked  at  first  resentfully 
and  then  triumphantly  at  Diego.  He  would 
show  the  little  priestling  that  there  was  no  such 
difference  between  them  as  he  would  wish  to 
make  out.  As  he  was  no  more  thief  than  he,  so 
he  would  hold  his  word  no  less  dear. 

"  I  gave  my  word,  too,"  he  said,  "  and  I  will 
keep  it ;  though  I  know  the  voyage  will  end  in 
my  destruction.  But  thank  you." 

"  Why,  that  is  bravely  said,"  laughed  the  man, 
as  if  he  found  the  affair  more  amusing  than 
heroic.  "  "Well,  it  won't  matter  much  ;  for  it  is 
likely  enough  your  voyage  will  be  ended  in 
another  way.  I  must  go  back  to  my  ship.  But, 
harkee,  boys  !  say  nothing  to  the  skipper  of  it ; 
but  I  have  just  come  from  Ferro,  and  there  I 
saw  three  armed  caravels  of  Portugal,  which  are 
waiting  for  your  Christoval  Colon  to  capture 
him  and  end  his  voyage.  They  lie  in  wait  on 
the  north  side  of  the  island,  where  it  is  most 
likely  you  will  go,  as  the  nearest  and  best  way. 
I  hear  the  men  shouting  for  you.  My  faith  !" 
he  said,  with  a  laugh,  "  they  think  you  have  for 
gotten  your  promises." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  man  walked  off  in  order  that  he  might 
not  be  suspected  of  offering  assistance  to  the 
boys,  and  they  went  by  separate  ways  to  where 
Martin  Alonzo  was  angrily  shouting  their  names. 
Juan  shouted  in  answer ;  but  Martin  Alonzo  did 
not  hear  him,  and  was  full  of  wrath  when  he 
saw  them  coming  out  of  the  wood. 

"  Had  ye  so  little  to  do  ?"  he  began,  and  then 
stopped  and  exclaimed,  "  Holy  Virgin !  look  at 
their  faces !" 

The  men  set  up  a  shout  of  laughter,  for  which 
Juan  cared  nothing,  having  been  the  victor,  but 
which  galled  Diego  mightily. 

"  So,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  eying  them  narrow 
ly,  "  you  have  been  employing  your  time,  have 
you,  after  all  ?" 

"  We  filled  the  casks  first,"  said  Juan,  Diego 
playing  the  wonderful  part,  for  him,  of  sullen 
silence. 

"  Well  for  you  you  did,"  said  Martin  Alonzo, 
and  with  that  turned  from  them  and  began  or 
dering  the  men  in  sharp  tones.  The  truth  was, 


DIEGO   PINZON.  121 

he  was  vexed  to  see  Diego  carrying  the  marks 
of  a  beating. 

Well,  the  water  was  loaded  into  the  boats  and 
they  pushed  off,  Diego  and  Juan  sitting  in  their 
places  in  silence ;  though  the  men  had  at  the 
first  tried  to  be  merry  with  them  over  their 
fight,  and  had  desisted  only  at  the  peremptory 
word  of  Martin  Alonzo,  who  looked  as  sullen  as 
Diego's  self. 

As  for  Diego,  he  had  neither  eyes  nor  words 
for  any  one  ;  but  sat  with  his  eyes  down  all  the 
way.  He  was  thinking  of  many  things,  and  was 
having  a  harder  battle  with  himself  than  he  had 
had  with  Juan,  and  one  that  hurt  him  far  more. 
It  was  mostly  about  Juan  he  was  thinking  ;  but 
there  came  occasional  thoughts  about  the  Portu 
guese  caravels  that  were  to  stop  the  voyage. 

He  thought  of  Martin  Alonzo,  too.  He  knew 
by  the  glance  his  cousin  had  given  him,  and  by 
the  tone  of  his  voice,  and  by  his  short  words  to 
the  men,  that  he-was  vexed  with  him  for  being 
beaten,  as  if  he  had  expected,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  Diego  would  be  the  master  in  such  a 
fight.  He  was  grateful  for  the  feeling,  but  he 
was  resentful  too.  Besides,  there  were  other 
things  in  his  mind,  and  he  was  in  an  uncertainty 
what  to  do. 

When  they  had  reached  the  vessel  and  the 


122  DIEGO   PINZON. 

water  had  been  taken  aboard  and  the  boats 
hoisted  to  their  places,  the  word  was  given  to 
the  admiral  and  sail  was  set.  Diego  did  his  share 
of  the  work,  watching  his  cousin  and  Juan  about 
equally,  and  knowing  that  they  were  watching 
him.  Presently  Francisco  Martin  took  charge 
of  the  ship,  and  Diego  saw  Martin  Alonzo  beckon 
him  to  come  apart  with  him,  which  he  did. 

"  So,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  brusquely,  "  you  let 
him  whip  you." 

"  He  whipped  me,"  answered  Diego,  sul 
lenly. 

"  Was  it  a  fair  fight  ?" 

"  Yes,  but  I  didn't  give  up  ;  don't  think  I  did. 
I  would  never  have  done  it." 

"  You  came  out  of  the  wood  quietly  enough," 
said  Martin  Alonzo,  reasoning  that  if  the  fight 
had  been  his,  he  either  would  have  whipped  or 
been  unable  to  walk  away  from  the  place. 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Diego,  more  sulkily  than  be 
fore. 

Martin  Alonzo  looked  disappointed,  and  kicked 
the  rail  viciously. 

"  Tut !"  he  said,  "  when  I  left  you  two  there,  I 
hoped  you  would  give  a  better  account  of  your 
self  than  this." 

"  Oh,"  said  Diego,  more  mortified  than  ever, 
"  you  expected  us  to  fight  ?" 


DIEGO   PINZON.  123 

"  I  would  like  to  know,"  said  Martin  Alonzo, 
"  why  you  did  not  fight  more." 

"  Then  you'd  better  ask  him,"  answered  Die 
go,  and  turned  away. 

He  had  said  nothing  about  the  Portuguese 
caravels,  from  which  it  would  seem  that  he  was 
willing  to  have  the  voyage  ended  by  them.  All 
the  remainder  of  that  day  the  fleet  sailed  on  for 
Ferro,  and  all  the  time  that  he  was  not  eating 
or  working,  Diego  leaned  on  the  rail  and  moodily 
watched  the  island  of  Gomera  fade  into  dis 
tance. 

Juan  was  as  gay  as  Diego  was  dull,  and  re 
ceived  the  congratulations  of  Miguel  and  a 
few  of  the  other  sailors  in  very  good  spirits. 
At  first  he  was  inclined  to  be  offensive  to 
Diego,  not  by  any  direct  affront  to  him,  but 
by  a  little  too  much  ostentation  in  his  high 
spirits ;  but  later  he  was  more  quiet,  and 
seemed  to  have  dismissed  Diego  from  his 
mind. 

As  for  Diego,  he  no  longer  looked  at  Juan,  but 
kept  himself  to  himself  until  the  coming  of  night 
cleared  the  deck  of  all  except  the  watch,  in  which 
they  both  were.  Then  he  watched  Juan  again 
until  he  saw  him  standing  alone,  when  he  went 
over  to  him  and  touched  him  on  the  shoulder. 
Juan  turned  and  started. 


12tt  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  "  you  wish  me  to  fight  here  so 
that  Martin  Alonzo  will  stop  us !" 

"  No,"  answered  Diego,  breathing  hard,  as  if 
to  keep  his  anger  in  check,  "  I  don't  wish  to 
fight  now.  I  only  wish  to  say  something  to 
you.  Some  day,  perhaps,  we  shall  fight  again." 

"  I  hope  so,"  answered  Juan,  with  a  disagree 
able  laugh. 

"  And  I  hope  so,"  said  Diego,  struggling  with 
a  sob  of  rage.  He  controlled  himself  and  went 
on :  "  What  I  wished  to  say  was  that  I  believed 
you  about  your  being  willing  to  save  me  from 
the  flogging.  If  I  had  known  it  before — 

"  I  tried  to  tell  you  once,"  said  Juan,  in  an 
eager,  softened  tone. 

"  I  know  it,"  answered  Diego,  "  and  it  was 
my  fault  that  you  did  not.  I  said  unpleasant 
things." 

"  But  it's  all  right  now,"  said  Juan,  joyously. 
"  Shall  we  shake  hands  ?"  and  he  held  out  his 
hand,  fully  expecting  Diego  to  take  it. 

"  No,"  answered  Diego,  "  I  don't  care  to  shake 
hands  with  you.  I  want  to  fight  you.  I  don't 
like  you.  I  was  wrong  about  you,  and  I  had  to 
come  to  tell  you.  If  I  had  known  it  before  I 
could  not  have  fought  you.  And  I  can't  fight 
you  again  if  you  don't  let  me  be  even  with  you 
in  some  way." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  125 

"  Oh,  very  well ;  but  you  needn't  be  so  par 
ticular,"  said  Juan.  "  I'm  ready  to  fight  you 
at  any  time." 

"  How  can  I  fight  you,"  said  Diego,  passion 
ately,  "  if  I  am  under  obligation  to  you  ?" 

"  Well,  what  will  you  do  about  it  ?"  asked 
Juan,  wonderingly. 

"  Have  you  told  the  sailors  yet  about  the  cara 
vels  ?"  demanded  Diego. 

"  No." 

"  "Why  V ' 

"  I  don't  know,"  was  the  hesitating  answer. 
"  What  does  it  matter  ?" 

"  It  matters  a  great  deal.  My  cousin  must 
know  about  it." 

"  I  supposed  you  had  told  him  already.  I 
saw  you  talking  with  him." 

"  I  didn't  tell  him.  I  wish  you  to  tell 
him." 

"  1 3"  exclaimed  Juan.  "  I  won't  do  it.  Why 
should  I?" 

"  Because  he  dislikes  you,  and  it  will  put  you 
in  favor  with  him  if  you  do  it.  If  I  let  you  tell 
him  it  will  make  us  quits  again." 

"  Betray  my  comrades  to  please  you !"  said 
Juan,  scornfully.  "  I  won't." 

"  How  would  it  betray  them  ?  Don't  you 
see  that  if  you  don't  tell  I  shall  have  to  ?  You 


126  DIEGO   PINZON. 

don't  want  me  to  have  a  right  to  fight  you,"  said 
Diego,  bitterly. 

"  I  won't  do  it,  anyhow,"  said  Juan. 

"  He  trusted  you  ;  he  took  your  word,  and  I 
think  that  puts  you  under  obligation  to  tell  him 
instead  of  telling  the  sailors,  especially  as  it  won't 
do  them  any  good  to  know.  I  think  you're 
afraid  to  fight,  that's  what  I  think." 

"  ISTo  you  don't,"  retorted  Juan.  «  Well,  I'll 
tell  Martin  Alonzo,  though  I  don't  want  to ;  and 
I'll  fight  you  some  day,  and  I  will  beat  you  so 
that  you  will  never  ask  me  to  fight  again." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Diego,  joyously,  "  and  I'll 
never  call  you  ugly  names  again,  nor  sneer  at 
you." 

So  he  turned  away  happy  in  the  thought  of 
some  day  retrieving  his  defeat,  and  Juan,  very 
much  puzzled  over  it  all,  watched  him  walk 
away  and  murmured  to  himself  : 

"  He  hates  me  now ;  but  maybe  he'll  like  me 
after  we  have  had  a  fair  fight  and  one  of  us  is 
whipped." 


CHAPTER   XIY. 

THE  slight  breeze  that  filled  the  sails  of  the 
fleet  on  leaving  Gomera  had  died  away  during 
the  night  into  a  dead  calm ;  so  that  when  Juan 
and  Diego  came  on  deck  in  the  morning  they 
saw  the  islands  still  within  a  short  distance  of 
them. 

Diego  leaned  over  the  rail  and  pretended  to 
look  at  the  green  shores,  while  in  fact  he  was 
uneasily  watching  Juan.  And  Juan,  while  pre 
tending  to  be  quite  easy  in  his  mind,  was,  in  truth, 
as  far  as  possible  from  that  state.  At  one  mo 
ment  he  blamed  Diego  for  the  singular  scruples 
about  fighting  that  had  forced  him  into  so  un 
comfortable  a  position,  and  the  next  moment  he 
was  upbraiding  himself  for  his  lack  of  courage 
in  not  going  at  once  to  Martin  Alonzo,  who  was 
pacing  the  poop  in  a  most  inviting  way. 

There  is  no  saying  how  long  he  might  have 
gone  on  worrying  himself  in  this  fashion  had 
not  Martin  Alonzo,  perhaps  in  default  of  any 
thing  else  to  do,  beckoned  him  to  come  up.  Juan 
took  a  deep  breath  and  went.  Diego  drew  a 


128  DIEGO   PINZON. 

deep  breath  also,  and  watched  the  two  out  of 
the  corner  of  his  eye.  Miguel  watched  too. 

"  So,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  eying  Juan  with 
no  great  favor,  "you  and  Diego  beguiled  the 
time  yesterday  by  fighting.  And  I  had  forbid 
den  it." 

"You  had  forbidden  it  on  board  ship,"  an 
swered  Juan. 

"  What !"  cried  Martin  Alonzo,  with  a  grimace, 
"have  you  the  gift  of  language,  too,  and  can 
hold  an  argument?" 

"I  did  but  justify  myself,"  answered  Juan, 
sensitive  to  anything  like  injustice. 

"So,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  shortly.  "Well, 
tell  me,  then,  was  it  a  fair  fight  ?  It  seemed  to 
me  strange,  indeed,  to  see  such  a  fighting-cock 
as  Diego  yonder  coming  out  of  the  wood  only 
half -whipped,  and  yet  with  no  fight  left  in  him. 
Construe  me  that,  since  you  have  the  gift  of 
language;  for  it  was  more  than  Diego  would 
do." 

Juan  shifted  uneasily  from  one  foot  to  another, 
looked  sidewise  at  Diego,  glanced  over  at  the 
islands,  and  then  traced  some  pattern  on  the  deck 
with  his  foot. 

"Well- a -mercy !"  exclaimed  Martin  Alonzo, 
impatiently,  "  if  there  be  not  more  mystery  over 
this  puppy  fight  than  over  a  great  battle !  What 


DIEGO  PINZON.  129 

is  there  in  this  that  ties  your  two  tongues  ?   Come, 
speak  out,  boy !" 

"  Why,"  answered  Juan,  almost  as  impatiently 
as  the  captain,  "  I  don't  half  understand  it  my 
self.  That  is — well,  I  know  why  he  would  not 
fight  any  more ;  though  his  nice  points  of  honor 
are  beyond  me.  But  I  am  only  a  jail-bird,"  he 
added,  sullenly. 

"  Tut,  tut !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  with  a  touch 
of  sympathy  showing  through  his  impatience. 
"  I  have  not  said  so,  and  I  shall  forget  where 
you  came  from,  so  you  behave  yourself.  Why 
would  Diego  fight  no  more?" 

"Well,  it  was  like  this,"  said  Juan,  plunging 
into  it,  since  there  seemed  no  escape  from  it ;  "at 
first  he  had  the  best  of  it,  and  gave  me  this  eye 
that  you  see.  Then  we  wrestled,  and  neither  got 
the  better  of  the  other,  until  his  foot  tripped  over 
a  root  and  he  fell,  with  me  atop  of  him.  Then  I 
pounded  him,  as  you  can  see  by  his  face." 

"Ay,  and  then?"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  impa 
tiently. 

"  I  asked  him  to  give  up,  and  he  said,  not  if  I 
killed  him." 

"  I  could  have  sworn  to  it.     Well,  well  ?" 

"  Then  I  told  him  something  that  I  knew  would 
hurt  him  worse  than  a  beating,  and  let  him  up. 
After  that  he  would  not  fight  any  more." 
9 


130  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  By  my  faith !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  in  a  tone 
of  extreme  exasperation,  aand  what  was  this 
wonderful  thing  that  you  told  him  ?  You  must 
indeed  have  the  gift  of  language  if  you  can  cool 
the  hot  blood  of  a  lad  like  Diego  by  words.  What 
did  you  tell  him  ?  I  may  need  to  know  the  words 
some  day.  What  were  they  ?" 

Juan  hesitated  and  then  tossed  his  head  with 
a  sort  of  pride  and  defiance. 

"  I  showed  him  how  he  had  done  me  an  injus 
tice,"  he  said. 

"  In  what  way  ?     Go  on  with  your  story." 

"  Well,"  said  Juan,  "  I  will  tell  you,  since  you 
urge  me.  It  was  I  cut  the  rudder  gearing." 

"Ah!"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  knitting  his  eye 
brows. 

"  Diego  knew  it  was  I ;  but  would  not  tell  you 
because — because — well,  he  was  too  generous." 

Martin  Alonzo  knew  that  it  was  because  Juan 
had  interfered  to  save  Diego's  life,  and  it  pleased 
him  to  have  Juan  refrain  from  telling  that. 

"  Well,  go  on,"  he  said. 

"  When  you  were  going  to  have  him  flogged, 
I  had  intended  to  tell  you  rather  than  let  him  be 
flogged ;  but  he  did  not  know  that,  and  was  so 
angry  with  me  that  he  said  hard  things  to  me. 
When  we  were  fighting — when  I  had  him  down, 
I  bethought  me  how  it  would  hurt  him  to  tell 


COME,  SPEAK   OUT,  BOY!' 


DIEGO    PINZON.  131 

him  that  I  had  intended  to  save  him,  and  I  did 
it.  If  I  had  not  been  angry  I  would  not  have 
done  it,  but  I  did,  and  that  is  why  he  could  not 
fight  any  more." 

Martin.  Alonzo  looked  into  his  flushed  face  for 
a  minute,  and  then  put  his  hand  on  his  shoulder 
and  said : 

"  You  two  boys  ought  to  be  friends,  and  will, 
eh?  after  this?" 

Juan  was  pleased  with  the  friendly  words  and 
manner,  as,  of  course,  he  could  not  help  being ; 
for  it  was  much  as  if  a  sponge  had  been  passed 
over  some  of  the  degradation  of  his  past.  He 
looked  his  gratitude,  but  did  not  make  any  an 
swer. 

"  What !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  "  can  you  not 
forgive  him?" 

"  It  isn't  that,"  answered  Juan,  with  a  short, 
embarrassed  laugh.  "  He  won't  forgive  me,  and 
wishes  to  fight  again,  some  time  when  we  can 
finish." 

Martin  Alonzo  stared  in  wonder,  as  well  he 
might. 

"  But,"  he  said,  "  I  thought  you  said  he  would 
not  fight  any  more." 

"  Nor  will  he  until  he  has  become  quits  with 
me ;  and  the  way  he  will  be  quits,  he  says,  is  by 
making  you  my  friend." 


132  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  Well,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  bending  his  keen 
eyes  curiously  on  the  boy,  "here  be  plots  and 
counterplots.  And  how  am  I  to  be  made  your 
friend  ?" 

"I  am  to  tell  you  something  you  ought  to 
know — something  on  which  depends  this  voyage 
— something  he  and  I  learned  in  the  woods  where 
we  were  fighting." 

"And  after  you  have  told  me,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  laughing  heartily,  for  the  whole  affair 
seemed  very  funny  to  him,  yet  full  of  generous 
spirit,  too,  "  you  are  to  fight  it  out,  eh  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  will  have  it  so,  and  I  will  oblige 
him." 

"  Then,  tell  me  quickly,  for  I  would  not  stand 
in  the  way  of  so  laudable  a  desire  on  his  part 
or  on  yours ;  and  I  do  assure  you,  boy,  that 
Diego  has  gained  his  point,  and  that  I  like 
you  well,  and  that  I  see  that  you  will  make  a 
future  that  will  blot  out  all  your  past  mistakes. 
But,  for  the  life  of  me,  I  cannot  help  laughing," 
and  he  did  laugh,  with  a  roar  that  was  infec 
tious.  "  And  now  tell  me  what  you  learned  in 
the  woods." 

"A  sailor  from  a  ship  that  had  just  arrived 
from  Ferro  came  to  us  and  first  offered  to  help 
us  desert  from  you." 

"  But  you  remembered   your   promises,  eh  ? 


DIEGO   PINZON.  133 

Good  boy !  good  boy !  Yes,  I  like  you.  "Well, 
go  on." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Juan,  flushing  with  pleasure, 
and  glad  now  to  be  telling  Martin  Alonzo  what 
he  had  heard — "  yes,  we  refused  to  go  with  him, 
and  then  he  told  us  it  would  not  much  matter 
— we  had  told  him  we  did  not  like  the  voyage — 
because  there  were  three  caravels  of  Portugal — 
armed  caravels  —  waiting  on  the  north  side  of 
Ferro  to  capture  the  fleet." 

Martin  Alonzo  became  serious  at  once,  and 
turned  involuntarily  towards  where  Ferro  lay. 

"Did  he  say  so,  boy?  Ah,  did  he  say  so? 
Thank  you,  boy,  thank  you !  We  will  see  to  that. 
Ay,  thank  you !" 

"  You  will  not  let  it  be  known  that  it  was  I 
told  you,  will  you  ?"  asked  Juan. 

"No,  no,  of  course  not.  The  men  must  not 
know  even  that  the  caravels  are  there.  Now  go 
make  friends  with  Diego.  You  will  like  him; 
for  he  is  a  good  lad,  though  with  a  hot  tem 
per." 

"Nothing  but  a  fight  will  satisfy  him,"  said 
Juan. 

"Then  you  shall  fight,  boy,  and  be  friends 
afterwards.  But  not  aboard  the  vessel,  boy.  Wait 
until  we  are  in  Zipangu."  And  then,  as  Juan 
smiled,  he  smiled  too,  and  added,  "  Ah,  you  think 


134  DIEGO   PINZON. 

we  will  never  reach  there,  do  you  ?  Well,  I 
verily  believe  you  are  mistaken.  But  go,  now, 
for  I  must  to  the  admiral  and  warn  him." 

Juan  went  down  the  ladder  with  a  more  up 
lifted  spirit  than  had  ever  been  in  his  breast 
before,  and  full  of  determination  to  deserve  the 
best  that  Martin  Alonzo  thought  of  him.  He 
passed  Diego  on  his  way  forward,  and  stopped 
to  say : 

"  I  have  his  good  will ;  so  you  and  I  are  quits, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  our  fighting 
when  we  have  the  chance." 

"  Good,"  growled  Diego. 

Juan  hesitated.  If  Diego  would  only  be 
friends  with  him,  it  seemed  to  him  that  he 
would  have  nothing  more  to  ask  for. 

"  Won't  you  shake  hands  and  be  friends  until 
we  can  fight  ?"  he  asked,  wistfully. 

"  Then  how  could  we  fight  ?"  demanded  Diego. 
"  No,  I  won't  be  friends  till  we  have  fought." 

So  Juan  turned  away  and  passed  on  to  where 
Miguel  was  jealously  waiting  for  him.  It  seemed 
to  Juan  a  very  difficult  matter  to  adjust  his 
friendships  to  suit  himself.  There  was  Diego, 
whose  friendship  he  wished  and  who  would  not 
be  his  friend  ;  and  here  was  Miguel,  whose  friend 
ship  was  so  undesirable  and  who  was  bent  upon 
being  his  friend. 


DIEGO   PINZON.  135 

"  Martin  Alonzo  found  your  conversation  very 
funny,"  said  Miguel,  in  an  injured  tone. 

"  Well,"  said  Juan,  testily,  "  is  there  any  harm 
in  that?"  and  he  moved  over  to  an  old  sailor, 
Eodrigo  de  Triana,  and  asked  questions  about 
the  weather. 


CHAPTER   XY. 

ON  Sunday,  which  was  the  third  day  after  the 
admiral  had  received  intelligence  of  the  caravels, 
and  which  was  the  9th  of  September,  the  day 
broke  and  saw  the  fleet  drifting  about  not  more 
than  nine  leagues  from  Ferro. 

All  those  in  the  secret  watched  anxiously  for 
the  hostile  vessels,  and  the  admiral  knew  that  if 
a  breeze  did  not  spring  up  during  the  day  there 
would  be  great  danger  of  capture ;  for  the  cara 
vels  could  get  out  their  long  oars  and  be  upon 
them  in  spite  of  the  calm. 

But  fortunately  for  his  purpose  a  breeze  came 
up  with  the  sun,  and,  before  any  sign  of  the  cara 
vels  was  seen,  the  little  fleet  was  skimming  over 
the  waters  into  that  mysterious  west  which  filled 
the  hearts  of  the  sailors  with  such  foreboding 
that  now  they  all  remained  on  deck  watching, 
with  increasing  gloom,  the  disappearance  behind 
the  eastern  horizon  of  the  last  speck  of  land. 

"  Nothing  but  water  now,"  said  Miguel,  hoarse 
ly,  as  his  eye  swept  the  whole  circle  of  the 
horizon. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  137 

And  then,  as  if  his  words  had  had  a  spell  in 
them,  a  strange  thing  followed  close  upon  them. 
Eodrigo  cle  Triana,  a  stout  man  and  a  good  sea- 
man,  who  had  never  given  any  trouble,  turned 
and  caught  Miguel  by  the  shoulder  in  a  spas 
modic  clutch,  and,  with  his  eyes  rolling  terribly, 
cried  out  in  a  loud  voice : 

"  And  it's  the  last  land  we  ever  shall  see.  God 
'a  mercy  on  us !"  and  thereupon  fell  on  his  knees 
on  the  deck  and  cried  like  a  child. 

And  then  the  others,  seeing  this,  and  being 
themselves  wrought  up  to  a  singular  pitch  of 
terror,  seemed  to  lose  all  control  of  themselves : 
and  all  over  the  vessel  could  be  seen  those  strong 
men  weeping  and  praying  in  voices  of  agony 
and  despair,  until  Martin  Alonzo  was  filled  with 
alarm  for  the  result,  and  sprang  down  the  ladder 
and  went  among  them. 

"With  some  he  reasoned  in  short,  telling  words ; 
others  he  caught  in  his  powerful  hands  and  put 
upon  their  feet  and  shook  them,  bidding  them 
be  men  or  he  would  do  such  things  as  would 
turn  their  thoughts  in  a  great  hurry.  And  when 
he  had  brought  them  into  some  semblance  of 
order,  he  mounted  the  poop  again  and  talked  to 
them,  telling  them  of  the  marvels  of  the  land 
they  were  going  to. 

"Gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  silks  and  sat- 


138  DIEGO   PINZON. 

ins,"  he  said,  among  other  things,  to  them,  "  are 
to  be  had  there  for  the  taking.  Every  man 
among  you,  to  the  meanest,  shall  have  his  fill  of 
riches.  What  shall  prevent  every  one  of  you 
from  going  back  to  Spain  so  rich  that  you  may 
purchase  any  title  in  the  kingdom?  You  will 
all  be  princes.  What !  do  you  think  I  only  say 
these  things?  I  know  them.  Why,  men  have 
been  to  this  land  of  Zipangu  and  to  Cathay,  which 
lies  beyond  it,  and  they  have  so  wearied  of  the 
wealth  they  might  have  there  that  they  have  left 
a  great  part  behind  them  on  returning  to  their 
own  country;  and  yet  had  they  so  much  with 
them  that  they  were  enabled  to  live  in  palaces 
and  be  served  by  nobles.  But  we  shall  leave 
nothing  behind  that  any  man  cares  to  take.  Here 
is  the  Pinta,  which  shall  be  loaded  to  the  last 
line  with  her  precious  freight,  and  we  shall  come 
home  rejoicing,  and  you  will  all  despise  your 
selves  for  the  childish  terror  which  you  let  con 
quer  you  this  day." 

Since  he  believed  everything  he  said,  to  the 
very  last  word,  it  was  not  strange  that  he  should 
make  the  men  believe  him,  even  in  spite  of  their 
fears,  which  they  could  not  dispel,  though  they 
kept  them  hidden  from  him. 

That  is,  they  hid  them  for  the  time ;  but  as 
they  kept  going  farther  and  farther  from  the 


;ALL    OVER    THE    VESSEL    COULD    BE    SEEN    THOSE    STRONG 
MEN  WEEPING." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  139 

land,  their  fears  would  return  to  them,  and  they 
would  construe  the  simplest  occurrence  into  an 
omen  of  evil,  and  there  would  follow  a  panic, 
which  Martin  Alonzo  would  soothe  as  best  he 
could,  displaying  a  patience  that  no  one  would 
have  looked  for  in  him ;  though  sometimes  break 
ing  out  in  a  great  fury  when  his  words  seemed 
to  have  no  effect. 

But  it  was  seldom  that  the  cupidity  that  was 
in  the  poor,  ignorant  men  would  not  become 
inflamed  by  his  promises  of  gold  and  jewels ;  and 
so  it  was  on  that  theme  that  he  talked  the  most 
often.  And  indeed  it  was  the  theme  that  occu 
pied  his  own  mind  the  most ;  for  it  was  only  the 
admiral  who  had  any  lofty  thoughts  concerning 
the  discoveries  he  hoped  to  make.  He,  indeed, 
cared  for  the  wealth,  too ;  but  it  can  truly  be 
said  that  what  was  more  in  his  mind  than  riches 
was  the  thought  of  carrying  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen  of  Zipangu  and  Cathay. 

But  it  was  a  terrible  voyage  in  view  of  the 
fears  of  the  sailors,  their  imaginations  becoming 
so  diseased  after  a  while  that  a  sudden  cry  from 
any  one  of  them  would  create  a  panic  among 
the  others. 

One  day  it  was  a  floating  mast,  from  some  un 
fortunate  wreck,  that  disturbed  them  and  made 
them  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  in  whispered  sto- 


140  DIEGO   PINZON. 

ries  of  disaster,  and  with  suggestions  of  destruc 
tion  to  themselves.  At  another  time  it  was  the 
variation  of  the  compass ;  at  another  time  it  was 
the  fact  that  the  wind  blew  steadily  from  the 
same  quarter,  convincing  them  that  it  was  waft 
ing  them  designedly  to  that  abyss  over  which 
the  ocean  flowed ;  at  another  time  it  was  a  calm ; 
at  another  a  great  area  of  sea-weed,  the  extent 
of  which  they  could  not  see. 

And  so  it  went  for  days  and  days;  though 
there  were  times  when  there  were  omens  which 
they  looked  upon  as  favorable.  But  afterwards 
these  were  deemed  only  lures  set  by  the  Evil  One 
to  keep  them  to  their  purpose.  Sometimes  they 
believed  they  saw  land,  and  then  they  were  mad 
with  joy  and  the  ships  would  race  with  each 
other  to  be  the  first  to  see  and  touch  it.  Then 
it  would  be  discovered  that  they  had  been  mis 
taken,  and  the  gloom  would  be  greater  than 
before. 

And,  at  last,  the  alarm  of  the  men  grew  so 
great  that  they  lost  their  fear  of  Martin  Alonzo, 
and  began  to  talk  so  openly  of  forcing  him  to 
turn  back  that  he  was  alarmed,  though  he  gave 
no  sign  of  it.  And  then  there  came  a  day  when 
he  began  to  have  doubts.  Not  that  he  doubted 
that  land  could  be  reached  somewhere  in  that 
western  ocean  ;  but  that  he  believed  that  the  ad- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  14:1 

miral  was  obstinate  in  always  keeping  to  his 
westerly  course,  when  it  seemed  plain  to  him 
that  land  would  be  reached  sooner  by  taking  a 
southwesterly  course. 

It  had  got  to  be  October  by  this  time,  and 
it  was  on  the  6th  of  that  month  that  Martin 
Alonzo  signalled  the  admiral,  and  afterwards  went 
aboard  his  vessel  with  the  intention  of  inducing 
him  to  change  his  course.  He  was  in  no  very 
good  temper,  for  his  men  had  been  more  than 
usually  mutinous,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  in 
sisted  more  strongly  on  having  his  own  way  than 
he  should  have  done. 

The  admiral,  however,  was  a  firmer  man  than 
Martin  Alonzo,  and  he  would  not  swerve  a  point 
from  his  course.  He  was  not  obstinate,  nor  angry 
in  his  demeanor,  and  said  to  Martin  Alonzo : 

"I  believe  that  land  lies  due  west  of  us.  I 
should  therefore  be  wrong  if  I  varied  from  my 
course.  Several  times  you  have  urged  me  to 
vary,  and  I  foolishly  have  acceded,  to  a  slight 
extent  only,  it  is  true ;  but  still  I  have  done  it. 
I  must  do  so  no  more,  except  upon  a  conviction 
of  my  own  that  I  should  do  so." 

"  Then  do  you  go  your  way  and  let  me  go 
mine,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  angrily. 

"  Not  so,"  answered  the  admiral.  "  You  shall 
keep  the  course  I  keep,  and  diverge  at  your  peril. 


142  DIEGO   PINZON. 

I  am  in  command  of  this  fleet,  and  it  is  for  you 
to  obey  me,"  and  he  spoke  in  so  lofty  and  dig 
nified  a  tone  that  Martin  Alonzo  was  hushed, 
though  yet  raging  with  anger  and  mortifica 
tion. 

However,  it  happened  the  next  day  that  the 
men  became  so  threatening  that  the  admiral  had 
need  of  the  support  of  the  Pinzons,  of  whom 
there  were  many  in  the  fleet,  and  to  keep  them 
on  his  side  he  did  take  a  course  west-southwest. 
Then,  after  three  days  of  that  course,  he  turned 
due  west  again,  and  held  steadfastly  in  that  direc 
tion. 

By  this  time  the  men  on  the  Pinta  could 
scarcely  be  held  in  any  sort  of  control,  and  the 
case  was  even  worse  on  the  other  vessels  ;  so  that 
it  would  have  needed  but  a  word  to  precipitate 
a  mutiny  that  must  have  ended  in  the  deaths  of 
the  most  worthy  men  of  the  expedition. 

But  at  this  point,  when  Martin  Alonzo  was 
moodily  leaning  over  the  rail,  thinking  many  hard 
things  of  the  admiral,  and  half  careless  whether 
or  not  his  men  rose  against  him,  he  suddenly 
noted  certain  signs  in  the  water  that  caused  him 
to  lift  his  head  and  cry  out : 

"  Ho !  liodrigo  de  Triana !  come  hither !"  and 
when  the  man  had  hurried  to  his  side,  "look 
over  into  the  water.  Are  those  weeds  from 


DIEGO   PINZON.  143 

fresh  water  ?  Did  ever  you  see  the  like  grow 
in  the  sea  ?  And  is  that  a  fresh  twig  of  wood, 
floating  yonder  ?" 

"  There  is  land  hereabout,"  said  Rodrigo,  turn 
ing  pale.  "  There  is  no  doubt  of  it  this  time," 
and  he  ran  wildly  forward,  shouting  the  intel 
ligence  to  the  men,  and  bidding  them  look  into 
the  water. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WHILE  the  crew  of  the  Pinta  were  rejoic 
ing  over  the  certain  indications  of  land,  Diego 
chanced  to  look  towards  the  other  vessels,  and 
saw  that  the  Santa  Maria  was  crowding  on 
more  sail. 

He  immediately  suspected  the  meaning  of 
that.  The  indications  of  land  had  been  seen  on 
board  of  the  admiral's  vessel,  and  those  aboard 
of  her  were  intending  to  gain  a  good  lead  before 
communicating  their  discovery.  Owing  to  the 
unfortunate  altercation  between  the  admiral  and 
Martin  Alonzo,  the  crews  of  the  two  vessels  had 
become  imbued  with  a  feeling  of  jealousy  tow 
ards  each  other,  and  each  was  willing  to  gain 
honor  at  the  expense  of  the  other. 

Besides,  there  was  a  reward  of  ten  thousand 
maravedis  offered  for  the  first  discovery  of  land, 
and  each  vessel  was  naturally  desirous  of  seeing 
it  earned  on  her  deck.  Diego  then  ran  over  to 
his  cousin  and  exclaimed  : 

"  They  have  seen  the  signs  on  the  Santa  Maria, 
and  are  pushing  her  to  take  the  lead." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  145 

Martin  Alonzo  looked  quickly  towards  the  ves 
sel,  and  then  turned  and  gave  orders  for  spread 
ing  every  inch  of  canvas  on  the  Pinta.  There 
was  a  good  breeze  blowing,  and  the  Pinja  was 
the  fastest  sailer  of  the  fleet,  so  that  it  was  not 
long  ere  she  was  showing  the  other  vessels  her 
stern. 

All  that  day  and  until  night  came  on,  there 
was  not  an  eye  in  the  fleet  but  was  eagerly  bent 
in  the  direction  in  which  land  was  supposed  to 
lie ;  but  when  darkness  came  on  and  there  had 
been  no  sign  of  the  looked-for  sight,  most  of  the 
men  gave  over  watching. 

On  the  Pinta  old  Eodrigo  de  Triana  had  been 
one  of  the  most  careful  watchers ;  though  it  was 
noticed  that  he  had  kept  his  eyes  as  much  on 
the  water  as  on  the  horizon.  His  watch  was  re 
lieved  at  midnight,  but  he  remained  on  deck,  say 
ing  to  Diego,  who  was  in  the  watch  with  him, 
that  he  did  not  feel  sleepy,  and  had  a  mind  to 
study  the  stars. 

"  To  study  maravedis,  you  mean,"  said  Diego, 
laughing. 

"  Why,  maybe  you're  right,  lad,"  answered 
Rodrigo,  slyly. 

Diego  had  half  a  mind  to  watch,  too ;  for  he 
had  a  good  opinion  of  the  old  sailor's  shrewd 
ness  ;  but  he  was  sleepy,  and  deferred  hope  had 
10 


14:6  DIEGO   PINZON. 

made  him  suspicious  of  appearances,  and  so  he 
went  to  bed.  It  seemed  to  him,  however,  that  he 
had  no  more  than  fallen  asleep  when  a  gun  fired 
from  the  deck  of  the  Pinta,  followed  by  loud 
and  joyous  cries,  sent  him  out  of  his  berth  in  a 
great  haste. 

He  found  himself  jostled  by  all  the  others  of 
the  crew  who  had  been  startled  at  the  same  time, 
and  were  crowding  out  on  deck,  eagerly  inquir 
ing  of  each  othe?  if  land  had  been  discovered. 
Then  presently  they  heard  the  voice  of  Martin 
Alonzo  joyfully  proclaiming  the  great  tidings. 

"  Ay,  ay,  boys !  it's  land  sure  enough.  There ! 
yon  can  see  it  for  yourselves,  dark  as  it  is.  And 
who  should  be  the  first  to  set  eyes  on  it  but  old 
Kodrigo,  the  cunning  old  salt,  who,  instead  of 
turning  in  like  the  rest,  must  spend  the  night  in 
the  round-house  looking  for  those  ten  thousand 
maravedis.  Now,  brother  Francisco,  have  in 
those  sails,  and  we  will  lay  to  until  the  blessed 
sun  comes  up  to  let  us  have  a  clearer  view  of  this 
land  of  Zipangu.  Ah,  lads  !  you  lay  your  heads 
down  to-night  poor  men ;  but  if  the  tale  be  not 
a  false  one— and  you  see  it  has  been  true  so  far— 
you  shall  not  go  to  bed  again  without  gold  under 
your  pillows." 

With  that  the  men  all  fell  to  shaking  hands 
with  each  other,  and  could  hardly  be  got  to  take 


DIEGO    PINZON. 

in  the  sails,  for  the  excitement  they  were  in. 
And  it  chanced  that  in  the  general  jubilee  of 
congratulation,  Diego,  whose  spirits  were  as  easi 
ly  exalted  as  any  one's,  had  gone  about  dancing 
and  shaking  hands  like  one  beside  himself,  as  in 
deed  he  was,  and  had  at  last  caught  the  hand  of 
Juan  before  he  knew  it. 

"  I'm  afraid  you  don't  mean  it,"  said  Juan, 
half  wistfully,  half  laughingly ;  for  Diego's  joy 
was  very  extravagant. 

"  No,  I  didn't,"  answered  Diego,  drawing 
back,  "  but  indeed  I  am  so  rejoiced  that  I  will 
shake  hands  with  you  heartily  if  you  will 
promise  we  shall  fight  it  out  in  all  friendliness 
at  the  first  chance." 

"  That  I  will,"  said  Juan,  more  glad  in  truth 
of  the  good-will  of  Diego  than  of  the  discovery 
of  land ;  for  he  had  craved  Diego's  liking  as 
Diego,  with  all  his  self-confidence,  would  never 
have  been  able  to  suppose. 

So  they  shook  hands  again,  Juan  laughing 
with  joy  and  Diego  presently  hugging  him  in 
his  excitement. 

"  To  tell  the  truth,"  said  Diego,  as  they  leaned 
over  the  rail  together,  "  I  think  I  have  wanted 
to  shake  hands  with  you  this  many  a  day ;  but 
I  was  ashamed.  And  I  was  mad  to  think  you 
had  been  more  generous  than  I — for  you  were ; 


148  DIEGO   PINZON. 

that's  the  truth.  But  my  heart  is  set  on  fight 
ing  it  out ;  for  I  think  I  am  the  master — in  all 
friendliness  you  will  understand  —  and  that  I 
should  have  had  the  best  of  it  that  day  in  the 
wood  if  we  had  fought  it  out." 

"  That  we  shall  see,"  said  Juan ;  "but  any 
how  we  shall  be  friends,  whoever  is  the  master, 
shall  we  not  ?" 

"  Truly  we  shall." 

"  And  you  will  not  despise  me  for  having 
come  from  the  jail  ?"  asked  Juan,  trembling  for 
the  answer. 

"  Martin  Alonzo  says  that  it  is  not  what 
you  were,  but  what  you  are,"  answered  Diego. 

"  Thank  you  for  saying  so ;  and  some  day  I 
will  tell  you  my  story,  and  you  shall  see  that  I 
was  not  so  bad  as  you  have  thought,  perhaps ; 
though  to  be  bad  at  all  is  too  bad,  as  I  very  well 
know.  But  we  won't  talk  of  that,  now." 

"  That's  as  you  please,"  said  Diego,  who  found 
himself  interested  even  then,  with  land  dimly 
visible  over  the  rail ;  though  perhaps  it  was  be 
cause  the  land  was  there  and  not  to  be  reached, 
that  he  was  glad  of  something  to  talk  of.  "  Tell 
me  now,  or  tell  me  never." 

"  Well,  it's  not  much  and  will  not  take  long, 
and  then  it  will  be  done,"  said  Juan,  slowly.  "  It 
is  this  :  My  mother  and  I  were  starving,  and  I 


DIEGO    PINZON.  149 

tried  to  earn  some  bread  for  her  and  could  not, 
and  so  I  stole  it.  That  is  all." 

"  I  should  have  done  the  same,"  said  Diego. 

"  Stealing  is  stealing,"  said  Juan,  and  Diego 
thought  of  the  melon ;  "  and,  after  all,"  he  said, 
a  little  huskily,  "  it  did  no  good." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Diego. 

"  My  mother  died  with  the  bread  on  her  lips." 

Diego  had  nothing  to  say  to  that,  but  he 
showed  his  sympathy  by  suddenly  taking  Juan's 
hand  and  shaking  it,  letting  it  go  as  quickly  as 
he  had  taken  it. 

"  The  only  thing,"  said  Juan,  after  a  moment's 
pause,  "  that  I  was  glad  of  was  that  she  never 
knew  I  was  taken  to  prison."1 

"  I  would  not  think  it  a  disgrace,"  said  Diego. 

"  But  it  was,"  said  Juan ;  "  and  if  I  had  not 
come  aboard  here  and  met  you  and  quarrelled 
with  you,  I  should  have  become  as  bad  as  the 
worst.  I  had  only  thieves,  and  even  murderers, 
for  friends,  and  could  have  had  no  other  sort  as 
long  as  I  lived  if  I  had  not  come  on  this  voyage. 
I  should  have  been  glad  I  came  the  voyage  even 
if  we  had  not  discovered  Zipangu ;  though  I 
would  have  done  anything  to  desert  at  first. 
And  now  you  may  whip  me  as  much  as  you  can, 
if  you  will  only  remain  my  friend." 

"I   will,  of   course  —  glad   to   be;    but   you 


150  DIEGO   PINZON. 

mustn't  let  me  whip  you,  or  I  shan't  like  you," 
said  Diego. 

"  Oh,  I  shall  do  my  best  to  whip  you,"  said 
Juan. 

"That's  it,"  said  Diego,  heartily.  "I  won 
der  if  you  and  I  shall  be  of  the  party  to  go 
ashore  ?" 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

DAYLIGHT  comes  and  goes  quickly  in  those  lati 
tudes,  and  it  seemed  to  the  waiting,  watching 
men  as  if  a  veil  had  suddenly  been  lifted  from 
before  their  eyes,  when  a  small  wooded  island 
appeared  to  them  in  the  early  morning. 

It  did  not,  indeed,  look  like  that  civilized  Zi- 
pangu  of  which  the  admiral  and  Martin  Alonzo 
had  spoken  so  often;  but  it  was  a  new  land, 
and  it  might  well  be  an  outlying  island  not  yet 
brought  under  the  civilizing  influence  of  the  rich 
and  prosperous  countries  they  were  seeking. 

In  short,  no  one  doubted  that  Zipangu  and 
Cathay,  with  their  enormous  stores  of  gold,  sil 
ver,  and  precious  stones,  lay  beyond  the  island 
they  looked  upon.  It  was  a  wonderful  sight, 
surely,  to  see  that  peaceful  little  island  lying- 
there  on  the  placid  bosom  of  the  waters  which 
had  been  so  mysterious  to  them  but  yesterday. 

And  presently  the  shores  began  to  fill  with 
people  the  like  of  which  they  had  never  seen  nor 
even  heard  of  before.  They  were  quite  inno 
cent  of  clothing,  and  from  the  ships  they  ap- 


152  DIEGO   PINZON. 

peared  of  a  brown  complexion,  though  they  were 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  of  a  coppery  hue. 
They  were  plainly  as  surprised  at  the  sight  of  the 
strangers  as  the  latter  could  be  at  sight  of  them ; 
for  there  was  a  constant  running  to  and  fro 
among  them,  and  a  gesticulating  and  pointing 
that  showed  that  they  could  not  conquer  their 
wonder. 

But  what  the  men  could  distinguish  from  the 
ships  only  made  them  the  more  anxious  to  be 
ashore,  and  there  was  a  general  shout  when  the 
admiral  signalled  to  drop  anchor  and  prepare 
the  boats.  Then  came  the  eager  question  of  who 
were  to  be  the  unfortunates  to  remain  on  board. 
Martin  Alonzo  settled  that  summarily  by  select 
ing  for  the  boats  those  who  had  been  the  least 
troublesome  during  the  voyage.  Neither  Diego 
nor  Juan  dared  ask  to  be  of  the  party ;  but 
Martin  Alonzo  was  in  no  manner  of  doubt  over 
their  desire,  and  he  said  to  Diego : 

"  I  can  have  no  fighting  here,  Diego,  and  so  I 
can  take  but  one  of  you  two  boys.  "Which 
ought  I  take  ?" 

"  An  it  please  you,  Martin  Alonzo,"  cried  Die 
go,  eagerly,  "  there  need  be  no  question  of  that. 
Let  us  both  go,  and  we  will  pledge  ourselves  not 
even  to  speak  otherwise  than  softly.  I  pray  you, 
good  cousin  !"  he  begged. 


DIEGO    PIXZON.  153 

"  And  you,  Juan  ?"  asked  Martin  Alonzo,  ready 
to  smile. 

"  I  will  let  him  strike  me  without  striking 
back." 

Martin  Alonzo  laughed  outright  at  that. 

"  I  would  not  trust  you  that  far.  But  put  on 
all  your  bravery — stop !  you  have  none.  Diego, 
do  you  and  Juan  come  with  me  and  I  will  give 
you  each  one  a  morion  and  a  bit  of  gay  apparel, 
so  that  these  natives  may  see  us  all  at  our  best. 
The  men  shall  all  go  armed." 

It  was  in  the  spirit  of  putting  the  best  appear 
ance  on  themselves  that  the  whole  fleet  acted. 
The  gentlemen  adventurers  clad  themselves  in 
shining  armor  and  donned  their  most  brilliant 
cloaks,  and  the  sailors  were  armed  with  arque 
buses  and  pikes,  and  were  clad  in  their  best, 
with  breastplates  and  helmets  to  complete  their 
bravery. 

The  admiral  was  splendidly  robed  in  a  brilliant 
scarlet  cloak  over  his  rich  and  glittering  armor, 
and  held  the  royal  standard  in  his  own  hand  as 
he  stood  upright  in  his  own  boat,  which  led  the 
way  to  the  new  shores,  which  his  steadfastness 
had  earned  and  his  great  mind  foreseen. 

The  heart  of  the  noble  discoverer  was  filled 
with  piety,  and  so  it  was  that  his  very  first  act  on 
setting  foot  on  land  was  to  kneel  down,  kiss  the 


154:  DIEGO   PINZON. 

earth,  and  offer  up  thanks  to  God  for  his  good 
ness,  even  shedding  tears  from  the  fulness  of  his 
gratitude. 

After  that  he  took  formal  possession  of  the 
new  land  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns, 
and  proclaimed  himself  by  the  titles  which  it  had 
been  agreed  upon  with  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
should  be  his  in  the  event  of  the  accomplish 
ment  of  the  purpose  of  the  voyage — Admiral 
and  Viceroy. 

It  is  painful  to  relate,  now,  how  the  men,  who 
had  reviled  him  and  had  even  plotted  his  death, 
crowded  around  him  with  words  of  most  ful 
some  flattery  and  praise.  Martin  Alonzo,  how 
ever,  was  not  one  of  these.  If  he  had  had  dif 
ferences  with  the  admiral,  they  had  been  honest 
ones,  and  he  lost  nothing  of  his  self-respect  now, 
in  the  full  tide  of  the  admiral's  triumph. 

He  congratulated  the  admiral  and  gave  him 
his  full  meed  of  praise,  and  the  admiral  cordially 
met  him,  giving  him  back  the  most  gracious  an 
swers.  A  pity  it  was  that  the  good  feeling  felt 
then  could  not  last.  However,  if  it  had,  this 
tale  need  never  have  been  told ;  for  it  was  be 
cause  of  the  renewed  differences  between  the 
two  men  that  Diego  and  Juan  fell  into  such 
trouble.  But  of  that  later. 

At  first  the  natives  would  not  approach  the 


"THE  ADMIRAL  WAS    SPLENDIDLY  ROBED  IN  A  BRILLIANT 

SCARLET  CLOAK  OVER  HIS  RICH  AND  GLITTERING  ARMOR, 
AND  HELD  THE  ROYAL  STANDARD  IN  HIS  OWN  HAND." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  155 

strangers ;  but  when  they  saw  how  peaceful 
they  were — the  admiral  would  not  permit  them 
to  be  otherwise — they  came  gradually  nearer 
and  nearer  until  some  of  the  more  courageous 
were  emboldened  to  touch  their  guests. 

They  believed,  then,  that  these  white  men,  in 
their  shining  armor  and  bright  raiment,  had 
come  down  from  the  skies ;  the  sails  of  the  ships 
being  taken  for  the  wings  on  which  they  had 
floated  down  out  of  the  firmament. 

"When  the  others  saw  that  nothing  evil  befell 
those  who  went  near  to  the  visitors,  they  flocked 
out  of  the  woods  like  so  many  children  and  could 
not  restrain  their  curiosity,  feeling  of  the  cloth 
ing,  the  arms,  and  the  very  skin  and  beards  of 
the  white  men.  Yes,  and  they  were  so  ignorant 
of  the  nature  of  the  weapons  that  one  of  them 
boldly  closed  his  hand  on  the  blade  of  a  sword, 
not  knowing  it  would  cut,  and  being  as  much 
surprised  as  pained  to  see  the  blood  flow  from 
his  wound. 

The  men  begged  that  they  might  remain  on 
land  all  the  day  long,  and  the  admiral  permitted 
it,  only  admonishing  them  not  to  stray  too  far 
from  the  boats  ;  and  so  they  spent  the  beautiful 
day  enjoying  the  delights  of  the  soft  climate  and 
refreshing  themselves  with  the  fruits  that  were 
brought  them  by  the  natives,  who  needed  only 


156  DIEGO   PINZON. 

to  know  that  a  thing  was  desired  to  make  them 
bring  it. 

The  admiral  distributed  among  the  natives 
some  of  the  cheap  trinkets  that  he  had  brought 
with  him,  and  it  was  a  marvel  to  the  sailors  to 
see  how  little  notion  they  had  of  the  value  of 
the  glass  beads  and  hawks'  bells,  prizing  the 
latter,  indeed,  above  everything  else,  and  being 
willing  to  barter  anything  they  had  for  them. 

Gold,  however,  was  the  one  thing  that  the 
voyagers  craved  before  everything  else,  and  that 
they  could  not  find ;  nor  could  they  discover  any 
means  of  conveying  their  wishes,  except  by  show 
ing  the  metal  to  the  natives,  and  making  signs 
of  wishing  to  have  the  same.  But  as  the  natives 
had  nothing  of  the  shape  of  the  things  shown 
them  they  only  shook  their  heads  and  indicated 
by  other  signs  that  they  had  nothing  like  what 
was  shown. 

Diego  and  Juan  had  been  furnished  by  Martin 
Alonzo  with  some  bells  and  beads,  and  they 
went  about  looking  for  objects  for  which  to 
barter  them.  Indeed,  it  was  such  a  pleasure  to 
them  to  see  the  joy  of  the  Indians— as  the  ad 
miral  had  called  them,  thinking  he  had  come 
upon  India — that  they  gave  most  of  what  they 
had  without  any  sort  of  exchange. 

But  at  last  they  stretched  themselves  luxu- 


3    3 


DIEGO    PINZON.  157 

riously  out  in  one  of  the  charming  groves  and 
let  themselves  be  waited  on  by  the  willing 
creatures,  who  brought  them  fresh  fruits  and 
roasted  yuca  root  until  they  could  eat  no  more, 
when  they  offered  these  young  sybarites  water 
in  calabashes. 

"  I  tell  you,  Juan,"  said  Diego,  drowsily — for 
the  luxury  of  all  this,  taken  with  the  scant  sleep 
of  the  night  before,  aided  not  a  little  by  the 
quantities  of  food  he  had  consumed,  had  made 
him  sleepy — "  this  is  better  than  fighting,  is  it 
not  ?" 

"  I  think  so,  indeed,"  was  the  prompt  answer. 

The  boys  had  become  sworn  friends  during 
the  day,  and  had  not  been  separated  once. 

"  Do  you  feel  like  a  prince  ?"  demanded  Die 
go.  "  Martin  Alonzo  promised  we  should  be 
such,  you  remember." 

"  I  don't  know  how  a  prince  feels,"  answered 
Juan,  with  a  laugh ;  "  but  I  don't  believe  he  can 
feel  any  better  than  I  do." 

"  I  wish  I  could  find  some  of  that  gold  he 
talked  of,"  said  Diego. 

"  Have  you  tried  your  Latin  with  them  ?" 
asked  Juan. 

"  I  did'  not  think  it  worth  while.  Luis  de 
Torres,  the  converted  Jew,  spoke  to  them,  as  you 
heard,  in  I  don't  know  how  many  languages,  and 


158  DIEGO    PINZON. 

they  only  stared  at  him  and  shook  their  heads, 
wondering,  I  suppose,  how  he  ever  twisted  his 
tongue  around  so  many  odd  sounds.  I  thought, 
myself,  that  he  would  lose  all  that  remained  of 
his  teeth  when  he  spoke  in  Hebrew.  No,  I  have 
not  tried  my  Latin  ;  though,  now  you  speak  of 
it,  it  may  be  not  amiss ;  for  the  Jew's  accent 
was  not  very  good.  Say,  old  man !"  he  raised 
his  voice  and  looked  at  an  old  man,  who  had 
watched  the  two  boys  with  an  extraordinary 
interest,  but  had  yet  approached  near  to  them, 
having  but  recently  come  from  a  neighboring  vil 
lage. 

When  he  saw  that  he  was  spoken  to,  he  stood 
up  and  showed  himself  a  very  respectable  and 
dignified  person  ;  though,  as  Diego  said  to  Juan, 
most  hideously  painted  on  the  face.  Diego  beck 
oned  him  to  come  nearer,  and  began  in  Latin, 
Juan  listening  attentively  and  with  as  much  re 
spect,  almost,  as  the  natives.  But  Diego  had 
not  said  three  words  before  he  sprang  from  the 
ground  and  agitatedly  caught  the  old  man  by 
the  nose  and  led  him,  considerably  startled  and 
[dismayed,  to  where  the  sun  streamed  into  an 
open  spot  in  the  woods. 

Juan  followed  anxiously,  a  vague  fear  troub 
ling  him  lest  Diego  was  going  to  do  some 
violence  to  the  old  man.  But  that  was  not  his 


DIEGO   PINZON.  159 

intention ;  though  Juan  might  be  excused  for  sus 
pecting  him.  What  he  did  was  to  turn  the  old 
man's  head,  using  his  nose  as  a  sort  of  handle, 
until  the  light  struck  athwart  it.  Then  he  took 
his  hand  away  and  cried  out,  at  the  same  time 
dancing : 

"  Gold !   gold !   gold !"     There  was  a  ring  of 
that  metal  in  the  old  man's  nose. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

IT  was  so  plain  to  the  Indians  that  Diego's  an 
tics  were  caused  by  satisfaction  that  they  were 
immediately  reassured,  and  were  presently  gath 
ered  around  him  to  discover  what  it  was  in 
the  old  man  that  caused  their  heaven-sent  visitor 
such  pleasure. 

"  I  believe  'tis  gold,"  said  Juan. 

"I  am  certain  of  it,  and  I  will  see  if  I  can 
get  it  from  the  old  fellow,"  answered  Diego,  and 
thereupon  began  to  make  signs. 

He  took  a  hawk's  bell  from  his  pocket  and 
jingled  it  before  the  eyes  of  the  dignified  but, 
therewith,  delighted  savage.  Then  he  tapped 
the  ring  of  gold  with  his  finger,  tapped  the 
bell,  and  offered  it  to  the  savage.  The  old  man 
understood  him  in  an  instant,  and  it  gave  Di 
ego  and  Juan— their  greed  for  gold  being  very 
great  — a  mighty  satisfaction  to  see  with  what 
trembling  eagerness  the  old  man  took  the  ring 
from  his  nose  and  exchanged  it  for  the  hawk's 
bell. 

"  Say  nothing  to  the  others  till  we  have  our 


"JINGLED  IT  BEFORE  THE  EYES  OF  THE  SAVAGE." 


DIEGO    PINZON.  161 

fill  of  it,"  said  Diego  feverishly  to  Juan,  not 
knowing  that  the  more  gold  he  had  the  more  he 
would  be  likely  to  wish  for,  and  that  the  time 
when  he  had  his  fill  would  be  little  likely  ever 
to  come. 

"  Perhaps  they  have  no  more,"  said  Juan. 

"  That  we  will  speedily  learn,"  answered  Die 
go. 

So  he  took  from  his  pockets,  Juan  doing  like 
wise,  all  the  bells  and  beads  he  had.  Then  he 
made  signs  that  he  would  exchange  them  only 
for  rings  of  gold.  Upon  that  the  savages  ran  off 
and  returned  with  a  handful  altogether  of  the 
rings,  and  Diego  and  Juan  were  soon  rid  of  their 
trifles  in  exchange ;  though  it  must  be  said  that 
the  Indians  gave  every  evidence  of  thinking  they 
had  made  the  better  bargain. 

When  they  had  procured  all  they  could  from 
the  men,  the  boys,  in  great  excitement,  hurried 
out  of  the  grove  and  shouted  for  Martin  Alonzo, 
until  he  was  pointed  out  to  them. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  what  madness  is  on  you 
now?" 

"  Madness,  indeed !"  said  Diego,  his  dark  eyes 
sparkling  like  the  precious  stones  his  head  was 
now  full  of ;  for  he  was  as  certain  as  if  he  had 
them  in  his  pockets  that  he  would  soon  be  pos 
sessed  of  burdensome  quantities  of  diamonds,  ru- 
11 


162  DIEGO   PINZON. 

bies,  sapphires,  and  the  like.  Martin  Alonzo  very 
quickly  caught  the  expression,  and  demanded 
eagerly : 

"  What  then  ?    What  then  ?    Speak,  Diego !" 

"  Look,  cousin !"  said  Diego,  softly,  and  drew 
several  of  the  rings  from  his  pocket  and  gave 
them  to  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  Gold !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  in  a  tone  that 
might  fairly  be  called  an  adoring  one. 

"  I  have  twenty  if  I  have  one,  and  Juan  has 
as  many,"  said  Diego. 

"Ha,  ha!"  cried  Martin  Alonzo,  rubbing  his 
hands  gleefully,  "  did  I  not  say  you  should 
have  it  ?  Come !  we  must  to  the  admiral  with 
this." 

"Why,"  said  Diego,  "let  us  get  more  our 
selves,  first." 

"  Tut !"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  and  laughed  like 
a  man  drunk  with  expectation,  "  be  not  so  grudg 
ing,  boy ;  there  will  be  enough  to  load  the  Pinta 
to  the  rail.  Come !  Ah,  this  looks  well,  in 
deed." 

So  he  led  the  way  to  where  the  admiral  sat, 
trying  to  extract  some  sort  of  information  from 
the  natives. 

"  My  lord  admiral,"  said  he,  joyously,  "  this 
boy  here,  or  the  two  of  them  together,  for  they 
run  in  couples  now,  though  they  were  for  flying 


DIEGO   PINZON.  163 

at  each  other's  throats  a  while  since — this  boy,  I 
say,  has  found  the  thing  we  have  sought." 

"  And  what  is  that  ?"  asked  the  admiral,  look 
ing  kindly  at  the  flushed,  eager  faces  of  the  two 
lads. 

"  Show  him,  Diego.  A  shrewd  lad  and  a 
cousin  of  mine,  admiral,"  said  Martin  Alonzo. 

Diego,  for  the  better  showing  of  his  shrewd 
ness  and  his  good  fortune,  drew  out  all  of  the 
gold  nose-rings  he  had  obtained,  and  Juan  turned 
all  he  had  into  the  same  pile,  Diego  holding 
his  two  hands  together  to  accommodate  them 
all. 

The  admiral  took  some  of  them  in  his  hand, 
eagerly,  too,  and  examined  them  carefully  before 
he  spoke. 

"  Gold ;  and  without  alloy.  Pure,"  he  said. 
"  This  is  well.  How  came  you  by  them,  my 
boy?" 

So  Diego  told  the  story,  looking  to  Juan  for 
confirmation  now  and  again,  and  the  latter  re 
sponding  loyally,  giving  Diego  all  the  credit  that 
was  his. 

"I  knew  it  would  rejoice  you,"  said  Martin 
Alonzo,  very  proud  of  Diego. 

"  And  so  it  does,"  said  the  admiral. 

"  And  shall  I  issue  bells  and  beads  to  the  men, 
and  let  them  barter  for  the  yellow  stuff  ?"  asked 


164  DIEGO   PINZON. 

Martin  Alonzo,  eagerly ;  for  he  was  anxious  to 
redeem  his  promises  to  his  men. 

"  Not  so,"  answered  the  admiral,  gravely. 
"  Gold  is  a  monopoly  of  their  majesties  and  can 
only  be  bartered  for  on  their  account.  And  'tis 
the  same  with  cotton.  All  things  else  the  men 
may  procure  from  the  natives." 

"  Not  barter  for  gold  ?"  cried  Martin  Alonzo, 
in  his  quick,  passionate  way. 

"  Not  barter  for  gold,"  repeated  the  admiral, 
with  all  the  dignity  of  his  authority. 

"  And  you  will  not  return  these  rings  to  the 
boys?" 

"Assuredly  not,  Martin  Alonzo,"  said  the  ad 
miral.  "  You  must  see  that  it  would  be  impos 
sible  ;  though  I  would  be  glad  to  do  it  for  the 
sake  of  rewarding  their  shrewdness." 

"  Then,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  his  bronzed  face 
all  aflame  with  wrath,  "  I  say  you  shall  yield  it 
up  to  them.  I  say  you  shall,"  and  he  stamped 
his  foot  on  the  hard  sand  of  the  beach  where 
they  stood. 

"  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon !"  said  the  admiral,  in 
a  stern  tone,  "  you  do  forget  yourself." 

For  a  second  it  seemed  as  if  he  had,  indeed, 
forgotten  himself,  and  would  continue  to  do  so, 
ere  he  would  yield  his  point.  But  a  better  judg 
ment  prevailed  and  he  held  his  peace;  though 


DIEGO   PINZON.  165 

it  was  impossible  for  him  to  quite  control  his 
temper.  He  caught  Diego's  hand  in  his  and 
emptied  the  rings  out  of  it  upon  the  sand,  and 
then  s wept  both  of  the  boys  along  with  him  as 
he  walked  sternly  away. 

He  said  nothing  to  either  of  the  boys,  but 
stalked  along  in  a  towering  rage,  and,  when  he 
had  come  to  his  boats,  gave  the  order  that  the 
men  should  be  collected,  so  that  they  might  go 
aboard  for  the  night. 

As  for  Diego  and  Juan,  they  were  divided  be 
tween  indignation  at  the  manner  in  which  their 
cherished  gold  had  been  taken  from  them  and 
dismay  at  the  attitude  Martin  Alonzo  had  as 
sumed  towards  Christoval  Colon,  whose  lofty 
manners  as  well  as  whose  dignities  awed  them. 

"I  wish,"  said  Diego,  who  could  never  be 
wholly  repressed,  "that  that  old  man  had  not 
thrust  his  nose  into  my  face." 

"  Or  that  you  had  wrung  it  off,  as  I  supposed 
you  intended  to  do,"  said  Juan. 

"Hush!  Martin  Alonzo  is  looking  this  way. 
If  he  should  see  us  smile  now,  I  think  he  would 
make  but  one  bite  of  our  two  heads.  But,  say, 
Juan,  if  we  may  not  traffic  in  gold— cotton  I 
would  not  have  at  a  gift — what  is  to  become  of 
us?" 

"  There  are  the  precious  stones." 


166  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  Oh,  ay !"  said  Diego,  doubtfully ;  "  but  where 
are  they  ?  I  saw  no  semblance  of  any  this  day." 

"  That's  because  you  saw  nothing  but  noses," 
said  Juan,  and  both  the  boys,  easily  recovered 
from  the  loss  of  their  gold,  laughed  behind  their 
hands. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

IF  the  boys  were  easily  reconciled  to  the  loss 
of  the  gold  which  they  had  at  first  sought  with 
such  avidity,  the  same  was  not  the  case  with 
Martin  Alonzo ;  although  even  he  cared  less  for 
the  loss  of  the  gold  than  for  what  he  considered 
an  affront  to  him. 

But  he  had  promised  his  men  that  they  should 
carry  away  as  much  gold  as  they  could  procure, 
and  he  held  himself  responsible  to  them  for  the 
fulfilment  of  his  promises.  And  then,  he  thought 
to  himself,  "  comes  this  upstart  Italian,  who  could 
never  have  sailed  an  inch  this  way  but  for  me,  and 
puts  me  down  with  his  talk  of  their  majesties.  As 
if  I  were  not  a  better  subject  of  them  than  he  1" 

That  was  not  especially  to  the  point,  but  it 
was  sufficient  to  the  angry  sailor  who  was  jeal 
ous  at  the  bottom,  and  did  not  ask  for  any  good 
reasons  for  disliking  the  admiral.  However, 
Martin  Alonzo  was  not  a  man  to  brood  for 
naught.  He  could  not  nurse  a  wrong,  real  or 
fancied,  without  coming  to  a  conclusion  which 
should  lead  to  action. 


168  DIEGO   PINZON. 

During  the  few  days  that  the  vessels  remained 
at  the  island,  which  the  natives  called  Guana- 
hani,  but  which  the  admiral  renamed  San  Sal 
vador,  Martin  Alonzo  did  nothing  overt,  though 
he  was  not  in  the  least  active  in  any  of  the  plans 
made  by  the  admiral.  One  thing  he  did  do ;  he 
called  Diego  to  him. 

"Diego,"  said  he,  "it  seems  to  me  that  the 
time  has  come  when  you  should  prove  the  truth 
of  the  encomiums  of  the  good  Fray  Bartolo- 
meo." 

"  As  to  what  ?"  demanded  Diego,  with  some 
surprise;  for  the  good  fray^was  very  far  from 
his  thoughts  at  that  moment. 

"  He  said  you  had  a  gift  of  language,"  said 
Martin  Alonzo. 

Diego  had  been  so  often  mocked  at  by  his 
cousin  because  of  his  alleged  gift  that  he  looked 
curiously  at  him  to  see  if  behind  his  gloomy  face 
was  any  sign  of  mirth.  As  there  was  not,  he 
answered  quite  soberly : 

"  Perhaps  he  praised  me  too  highly,  *  good 
cousin." 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  knitting 
his  brows ;  "  for  I  have  a  use,  now,  for  such  a 
gift." 

"And  may  I  ask  what  that  use  may  be?" 
asked  Diego,  seeing  his  cousin  pause. 


DIEGO   PINZON.  169 

"  Yes,  you  may  ask  and  know ;  for  I  look  to 
you  to  practise  it.  Diego,  I  wish  you  to  put 
yourself  to  it  to  learn  the  language  of  this  peo 
ple.  Will  it  be  a  difficult  task?  You  should 
know,  having  studied  other  languages." 

"I  think  it  will  be  an  easy  task,"  answered 
Diego ;  "  for  I  have  already  begun  to  learn  some 
words,  and  I  can  say  more  than  you  would 
believe,  considering  I  have  studied  but  three 
days." 

"  That  is  well — that  is  as  it  should  be.  Keep 
your  counsel,  Diego,  and  say  nothing  of  what 
you  are  doing  to  any  soul." 

"Juan  already  knows  I  am  studying.  But, 
cousin,  I  hear  that  the  admiral  intends  to  set 
sail  as  soon  as  the  boats  return  from  coasting 
the  island;  and  if  that  be  so  I  shall  not  have 
time  to  learn  much." 

"  That  will  not  matter ;  for  we  shall  carry  away 
a  few  of  the  men  to  learn  to  act  as  interpreters. 
The  admiral  has  so  informed  us.  That  is,  if  the 
men  will  go,  and  I  do  not  doubt  they  will." 

"  May  I  know  with  what  especial  object  I  am 
to  study  ?"  asked  Diego,  whose  curiosity  was 
roused,  as  much  by  the  sullen  manner  of  his 
cousin  as  by  anything  else. 

"  No,  you  may  not,"  answered  Martin  Alonzo, 
curtly.  Then,  as  Diego  turned  abashed,  he  asked, 


170  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"Do  the  men  understand  why  they  may  not 
traffic  for  gold?" 

"  Yes." 

"  And  do  they  know  how  the  gold  was  taken 
from  yon  and  Juan  ?" 

"  Ay,  they  do,  and  have  been  angry  because 
of  it,  grumbling  greatly  that  you  promised  them 
as  much  gold  as  they  could  carry.  However," 
and  Diego  laughed,  "it  has  not  made  a  great 
deal  of  difference ;  for  it  would  seem  as  if  Juan 
and  I  had  stripped  the  island  of  its  gold." 

"  It  is  true  that  not  much  more  has  been  found ; 
but,  Diego,  there  must  be  more  where  that  came 
from,  and  I  wish  you  to  learn  as  soon  as  you  can 
where  it  did  come  from.  That  is  a  part  of  your 
task.  And  be  secret." 

"  Learn  where  the  gold  came  from !"  repeated 
Diego  to  himself  with  a  short  laugh  when  he  had 
left  his  cousin.  "  That  is  well  said ;  but,  worthy 
Martin  Alonzo,  do  you  not  know  that  every  man 
on  the  fleet  is  striving  his  utmost  to  learn  the  same 
thing  ?  A  pretty  secret  that !"  and  Diego  laughed. 

Nevertheless,  he  prosecuted  his  studies,  which 
he  had  taken  up  from  sheer  love  of  learning  lan 
guages,  having  truly  the  gift  the  good  fray  cred 
ited  him  with,  and,  with  a  definite  object  in  view 
now,  he  strove  harder  than  ever;  Juan,  mean 
while,  admiring  his  extraordinary  facility  in  learn- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  171 

ing  without  making  the  least  effort  to  learn,  him 
self. 

It  was  as  Martin  Alonzo  had  said.  The  ad 
miral  did  not  remain  long  at  so  unimportant  an 
island,  but,  having  partly  explored  its  coast  and 
finding  it  uninteresting,  returned  to  the  ships  and 
set  sail,  taking  seven  of  the  natives  with  him, 
three  of  them  going  on  the  Pinta,  as  Martin 
Alonzo  had  supposed  would  happen. 

All  the  talk  of  the  fleet  was,  as  Diego  had 
said,  of  gold  and  where  it  could  be  found ;  and 
the  admiral,  by  dint  of  signs  and  such  words  as 
he  had  been  able  to  pick  up,  had  gathered  in  a 
vague  way  that  the  source  of  the  gold  was  to  the 
south  of  Guanahani;  and  so  he  made  his  way 
thitherward,  stopping  at  various  islands  on  the 
way,  but  never  with  any  success  in  finding  more 
gold  than  had  been  had  in  Guanahani. 

All  of  the  islands  were  as  charming  as  they 
very  well  could  be,  each  one  seeming  more  beau 
tiful  than  the  last ;  but  as  they  held  no  gold  in 
store  for  the  greedy  voyagers,  they  gave  but  lit 
tle  pleasure  to  any  one  but  the  admiral,  who  had 
always  an  enthusiastic  description  of  each  to  jot 
in  the  journal  he  was  keeping  for  his  sovereigns. 

It  was  the  12th  of  October  when  the  fleet 
dropped  anchor  off  Guanahani,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  28th  of  the  same  month  that  it  came 


172  DIEGO   PINZON. 

in  sight  of  Cuba,  which  gave  the  first  promise 
of  being  the  land  they  were  in  search  of;  for 
it  was  great  in  extent,  and  was  marked  with 
lofty  mountains. 

At  first  the  admiral  was  convinced  that  he  had 
reached  Zipangu,  but  afterwards,  owing  to  some 
thing  which  Diego  gathered  from  the  Indians  on 
the  Pinta,  Martin  Alonzo  gained  the  belief  that 
it  was  not  an  island,  but  the  mainland ;  and,  at 
once,  both  admiral  and  Martin  Alonzo  jumped  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  Cathay,  and  on  this 
supposition  they  made  a  landing. 

The  Indians  told  of  gold  in  great  quantities  to 
be  found  in  a  certain  part  of  Cuba ;  but  although 
every  effort  was  made  to  find  it,  it  was  always 
without  success.  The  truth  was  that  the  Indians 
knew  but  little  of  the  island,  and  what  they  told 
was  always  immediately  magnified  and  distorted 
by  the  admiral,  who  saw  everything  by  the  light 
of  his  faith  that  he  had  discovered  the  eastern 
coast  of  Asia. 

In  the  meantime  Diego  had  gained  a  consid 
erable  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  Indians, 
and  was  profiting  by  it  to  question  the  natives 
of  Cuba ;  for,  although  the  language  was  not  the 
same  there,  it  was  enough  like  that  of  Guanahani 
to  enable  him  to  communicate  in  it  with  the 
Cubans. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  173 

Every  day,  Martin  Alonzo  eagerly  questioned 
him  on  his  progress  in  knowledge  of  where  gold 
was  to  be  found,  and  as  often  would  express  his 
disappointment  that  there  was  nothing  more  defi 
nite  to  tell,  saying  that  the  admiral  had  as  much 
knowledge  of  the  matter  as  he  had. 

o 

"  Well,"  said  Diego,  "  and  why  should  he  not 
have?" 

"Boy,  boy,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  one  day,  "I 
depend  on  you.  I  will  not  brook  the  authority 
of  that  upstart  foreigner.  I  tell  you  I  depend 
on  you.  Now  ask,  pry,  discover." 

Then  one  day,  after  having  had  an  interview 
with  the  admiral,  he  called  Diego,  and  said,  al 
most  angrily : 

"Here  is  more  that  you  have  not  discovered 
for  me  that  the  admiral  knows.  Now  that  we 
have  spent  two  weeks  exploring  and  coasting  this 
country  of  Cuba,  some  one  tells  him  that  on  the 
island  of  Babeque,  which  lies  to  the  northeast, 
there  is  plenty  of  gold  and  precious  stones.  What 
have  you  to  say  to  that  ?" 

Well,  it  was  only  natural  that  Diego,  having 
been  badgered  so  much,  had  exerted  himself  to 
learn  something  that  was  not  known  to  anybody 
else,  and  he  had  supposed  he  had  accomplished 
it,  when  Martin  Alonzo  came  with  this  piece 
of  news.  At  the  first  word,  he  fancied  that  he 


DIEGO    PINZON. 

had  been  forestalled  again ;  but  when  his  cousin 
had  concluded,  he  plucked  up  his  spirits  and  an 
swered  : 

"I  have  nothing  to  say  to  that;  but  I  have 
something  else  to  say,  and  that  is  that  to  the 
southeast,  not  far  from  here,  there  lies  an  island 
which  the  Indians  call  Bohio,  though  I  think 
that  is  not  its  name,  but  only  a  sort  of  descrip 
tion.  It  is  on  this  island,  according  to  more  than 
one,  that  gold  is  found,  and  that  powerful  and 
warlike  people  live." 

"  Do  you  trust  this  report,  Diego  ?"  demanded 
Martin  Alonzo,  eagerly. 

"  I  do,  because  I  have  questioned  the  men 
carefully.  I  have  more  faith  in  it  than  in  the 
admiral's  Babeque,  anyhow." 

"  And  it  is  to  the  southeast  ?" 

"  To  the  southeast,"  answered  Diego. 

"  Diego,"  whispered  Martin  Alonzo,  "  I  will 
trust  you.  Keep  your  counsel  still.  I  think  the 
time  has  come  when  I  can  show  that  proud  up 
start  that  he  is  not  supreme.  Diego,  I  shall 
leave  him  to  find  his  own  gold,  and  I  will  go 
find  mine.  Ah,  I  shall  not  prevent  free  dealing 
in  it,  should  ever  we  come  upon  it.  Quiet,  boy, 
and  you  shall  be  satisfied  for  the  gold  he  took 
from  you." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

IT  was  all  wrong  and  utterly  indefensible  for 
Martin  Alonzo  to  take  the  attitude  he  did  tow 
ards  the  admiral,  and  Martin  Alonzo  knew  it 
quite  as  well  as  any  one. 

Of  course  he  justified  himself  to  himself,  and  re 
hearsed  in  his  own  mind  how  he  had  contributed 
money  and  influence,  without  which  the  voyage 
could  not  have  been  undertaken  ;  but  down  in  his 
heart  he  knew  that  he  was  bent  on  a  wrong 
deed,  and  it  must  have  been  borne  in  on  his 
better  nature  that  the  real  cause  of  his  dislike 
for  the  admiral  was  born  of  a  union  of  jealousy 
and  an  insubordination  which  could  not  brook 
authority  from  any  one. 

Diego  felt  that  Martin  Alonzo  was  intent 
on  a  thing  that  was  wrong— his  cousin's  man 
ner  indicated  that  —  but  he  could  not  reason 
on  it ;  for  he  did  not  clearly  understand  what 
the  relations  were  between  the  captain  and 
the  admiral.  It  was  generally  felt  that  Mar 
tin  Alonzo  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the  enter 
prise,  and  that  the  honors  and  authority  which 


176  DIEGO   PINZON. 

were  to  fall  to  the  admiral  were  quite  unde 
served. 

Besides,  Diego  was  too  young,  too  happy  in 
the  excitement  of  the  voyage,  to  care  much.  He 
admired  his  cousin  and  loved  him,  and  would 
willingly  follow  his  lead ;  and  as  he  felt  no  re 
sponsibility  in  the  matter — having  none  indeed, 
for  his  clear  duty  was  simply  to  obey  the  orders 
of  his  captain — he  gave  himself  no  concern  either 
at  that  time  or  later. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  Novem 
ber  that  the  admiral  finally  gave  up  hope  of  gain 
ing  anything  by  remaining  on  the  coast  of  Cuba, 
and  turned  the  prows  of  his  ships  towards  that  isl 
and  which  he  called  Babeque.  The  course  set  was 
due  east,  and  the  Pinta,  as  usual,  took  the  lead. 

The  wind  was  dead  ahead,  however,  and  after 
battling  all  that  day  and  during  the  night,  very 
little  progress  had  been  made.  Martin  Alonzo 
spent  his  time,  as  he  had  frequently  done  of  late, 
in  gnawing  his  lips  and  fingers,  and  in  watching, 
with  sullen  eyes,  the  ship  of  the  admiral.  On 
the  morning  of  the  20th  he  called  Diego  to  him. 

"  You  have  been  wishing  to  have  a  word  with 
me,  Diego,"  he  said.  "  What  is  it  V 

"  The  Indians  say  that  the  island  we  are  head 
ing  for  must  be  Bohio,  and  not  the  Babeque  of 
which  the  admiral  speaks." 


DIEGO    PINZON.  177 

"  Yes,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  "  that  is  what  I 
supposed.  Well,  neither  the  Santa  Maria  nor 
the  Nina  can  sail  long  in  the  teeth  of  this  gale, 
and  will  be  obliged  to  turn  back." 

"  So  Kodrigo  de  Triana  says,"  answered  Die 
go. 

"He  says  well.  Now,  go,  Diego,"  and  he 
turned  and  walked  to  where  his  brother,  Fran 
cisco  Martin,  paced  the  unsteady  poop  of  the 
Pinta. 

It  is  singular  how  the  very  air  seems  to  be 
charged  with  expectation  when  a  plot  of  any 
sort  is  brewing.  The  sailors  of  the  Pinta  knew 
that  something  was  to  happen  that  was  out  of 
the  common,  and  they  often  whispered  when 
there  was  no  need  of  it,  and  kept  casting  curious 
and  expectant  glances  towards  the  poop. 

All  day  long  the  gale  pelted  them,  and  they 
beat  about  before  it ;  though  the  sailors  of  the 
Pinta  knew  she  was  not  doing  the  best  she 
could  have  done  under  the  circumstances.  They 
told  themselves  that  it  was  because  Martin  Alon 
zo  did  not  choose  to  get  too  far  from  the  other 
ships. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  admiral  decided  that 

it  would   be   better  to  turn  back  and  wait  for 

better  weather,  and  he  therefore  put  his  vessel 

about  and  signalled  the  other  two  to  do  the 

12 


178  DIEGO    PINZON. 

same.  The  Nina  obeyed,  and  the  sailors  of  the 
Pinta  stood  ready  to  take  Martin  Alonzo's  or 
ders.  But  he  merely  beckoned  his  brother  and 
two  of  the  gentlemen  adventurers  to  join  him, 
and  they  talked  earnestly  for  a  few  minutes,  the 
sailors  watching  them  intently  and  whispering 
among  themselves. 

Presently  Martin  Alonzo  separated  himself 
from  his  companions,  and  walked  to  where  he 
could  see  the  sailors.  There  was  a  set  smile 
on  his  face,  and  he  said  nothing  for  a  full 
minute. 

"  Now  we  shall  hear  something  startling,  de 
pend  upon  that,"  said  Juan,  in  Diego's  ear. 

"It  is  an  egg  he  has  been  sitting  on  for  some 
time,"  said  Diego,  "  and  I  am  curious  to  see 
what  will  be  hatched." 

"  My  men,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  raising  his 
powerful  voice,  "  come  nearer.  I  have  some 
thing  to  say  to  you." 

There  was  no  need  of  a  second  invitation ;  for 
the  men  crowded  as  near  as  they  could,  and 
listened  while  they  clung  to  any  available  thing ; 
for  the  vessel  was  tossing  like  a  cork.  Martin 
Alonzo  stretched  out  his  arm  towards  the  other 
ships. 

"  They  are  going  back  to  a  land  where  there 
is  no  gold,"  he  said,  and  stopped. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  179 

"  Ay,  ay !"  growled  the  men,  looking  at  the 
ships  and  nodding  their  heads. 

"  I  promised  you  all  the  gold  you  could  pro 
cure,"  said  Martin  Alonzo.  "  There  has  not  been 
much  as  yet  to  get ;  but  you  know  whose  fault 
it  has  been  that  you  could  not  have  a  share  of 
what  there  was." 

At  this  the  men  seemed  to  half  comprehend 
what  was  coming,  and  nodded  vigorously  at  each 
other  and  shouted,  "  Ay,  ay !"  in  a  way  that 
showed  that  they  would  not  lag  behind  his 
wishes. 

"  But  for  me,"  went  on  Martin  Alonzo,  "  this 
expedition  would  never  have  started,  or,  having 
started,  would  never  have  continued  on  its  way. 
I  promised  you  gold  and  precious  stones  if  you 
would  keep  your  spirits,  and  I  have  been  pre 
vented  from  keeping  my  promise.  "Well,  so  far 
we  have  found  but  little  gold ;  but  the  boy,  Diego, 
has  been  learning  the  language  of  these  Indian 
fellows,  and  he  has  discovered  that  the  gold 
comes  from  a  certain  island,  not  far  to  the  east 
of  here.  The  other  ships  have  turned  back. 
Shall  we  turn  back,  or  shall  we  go  on  ?  Come  ! 
it  is  for  you  to  say.  If  we  go  it  is  for  the  pur 
pose  of  letting  each  man  get  what  treasure  he 
can,  that  he  may  have  some  profit  out  of  a  voy 
age  that  has  had  enough  of  terror  for  us  all. 


180  DIEGO    PINZON. 

What  is  the  word,  men  ?  Shall  we  keep  on  our 
course,  or  shall  we  put  about  and  return  ?" 

"  To  the  island !"  "  Gold,  gold !"  "  Keep  our 
course !"  and  such  like  cries  were  his  answer,  as 
he  very  well  knew  they  would  be. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  that  ?"  asked  Diego  in 
a  whisper  of  Juan. 

"  I  think  he  has  the  gift  of  language,  too,"  an 
swered  Juan. 

"  Good  !"  said  Martin  Alonzo ;  "  and  now  let 
us  make  our  terms  at  the  start,  so  that  there 
may  be  no  misunderstanding.  I  have  been  at 
great  costs  on  account  of  this  expedition,  and  it 
is  but  fair  that  I  should  receive  more  than  you. 
Again,  I  shall  have  to  supply  you  with  the 
means  of  traffic.  In  consideration  of  these 
things,  I  ask  you  if  it  will  not  be  right  that  I 
shall  take  half  of  the  gold  and  have  the  other 
half  divided  share  and  share  alike  among  you  ?" 

The  sailors  had  listened  dubiously  at  the  open 
ing  of  this  speech,  expecting  to  hear  him  propose 
far  less  advantageous  terms  to  them ;  so  that 
when  he  concluded  they  were  agreeably  sur 
prised  and  showed  their  satisfaction  in  a  shout 
of  acquiescence. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  Pinta  disregarded  all  the 
signals  of  the  admiral  and  kept  her  course  as 
well  as  she  could,  while  the  companion  vessels 


DIEGO   PINZON.  181 

were   forced   to   seek   shelter   on   the  coast  of 
Cuba. 

For  a  while,  the  feeling  that  they  had  broken 
loose  from  the  supreme  authority  put  the  sailors 
into  a  riotous  state  ;  but  Martin  Alonzo  was  not 
the  man  to  permit  that.  He  might  defy  author 
ity,  himself,  but  no  one  should  disregard  his 
authority,  and  he  very  speedily  gave  the  sailors 
to  understand  it ;  so  that  in  a  little  while  he  had 
his  crew  in  its  accustomed  state  of  subordination. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

NOTHING  less  than  the  strong  desire  to  escape 
from  the  domination  of  the  admiral  would  ever 
have  kept  Martin  Alonzo  beating  to  windward 
in  that  storm,  when  he  could  have  run  before  it 
to  shelter  on  the  Cuban  coast. 

As  it  was,  he  had  to  give  up  all  idea  of  making 
the  island  of  Bohio  ;  and  all  the  night  long  the 
little  vessel  plunged  through  the  towering  waves, 
carrying  almost  no  canvas  at  all,  but  being  hur 
ried  along  at  a  rapid  rate  towards  the  north. 

During  all  the  next  day,  and  the  next,  the 
storm  raged,  and  the  sailors,  with  the  faint-heart 
ed  ness  that  seemed  characteristic  of  them,  began 
to  murmur  that  they  had  only  exchanged  one 
evil  for  a  worse,  when  land  hove  in  sight  and 
closed  their  lips. 

The  Indians  could  tell  Diego  nothing  of  this 
new  land,  and  so  Martin  Alonzo  determined  to 
make  it  and  explore  it,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
there  the  much-desired  gold.  Besides,  it  was  ad 
visable  to  go  into  shelter ;  and  as  he  drew  nearer 
to  the  land  he  saw  that  it  was  a  collection  of 


DIEGO   PINZON.  183 

islands,  none  of  a  very  great  size,  giving  him 
the  assurance  of  a  harbor  in  some  one  of  the 
channels  between  the  islands. 

He  was  fortunate  in  finding  a  safe  harbor  be 
fore  night  came  on,  and  there  he  dropped  anchor 
and  remained  until  morning.  At  the  first  streak 
of  dawn  the  deck  was  alive  with  the  sailors,  ea 
gerly  scanning  the  land  to  gain  some  notion  of 
its  promise.  It  was  sadly  disappointing,  being 
neither  so  attractive  nor  so  populous  as  the 
country  they  had  just  left,  and,  what  was  far 
worse,  gave  every  augury  of  containing  no  metal 
of  any  sort. 

As  the  bad  weather  continued,  however,  Mar 
tin  Alonzo  spent  several  days  in  the  comparative 
security  of  the  inland  sea  formed  by  the  far- 
stretching  cluster  of  islands,  going  ashore  every 
day  only  to  confirm  the  first  dismal  impression 
of  the  barrenness  of  the  land,  and  at  last  emerg 
ing  into  the  open  sea  again,  determined  to  sail 
to  the  south  and  come  upon  the  famed  Bohio, 
which  they  all  had  come  to  regard  as  their 
promised  land. 

The  weather  wras  not  propitious  for  the  voy 
age,  but  all  hands  were  agreed  that  they  would 
rather  take  their  chances  of  a  storm  than  to  re 
main  among  the  profitless  islands  where  they 
were ;  so  Martin  Alonzo  set  his  course  to  the 


184:  DIEGO   PINZON. 

southeast,  and  took  leave  of  the  islands  that  had 
done  no  more  than  shelter  him. 

For  several  days  they  beat  about  in  an  unu 
sually  tempestuous  sea,  and  the  only  consolation 
Martin  Alonzo  drew  out  of  the  long  voyage  was 
the  belief  that  the  admiral  would  be  unlikely  to 
make  the  attempt  to  cross  over  from  Cuba  in 
such  weather. 

However,  the  voyage  bade  fair  to  come  to  an 
end  at  last ;  for  one  afternoon  the  men  on  the 
lookout  gave  the  welcome  cry  of  land.  By  the 
time  it  was  near  enough  to  be  seen  distinctly,  it 
was  too  late  to  enable  them  to  make  out  any 
thing  but  that  it  was  a  rocky  coast,  with  high 
mountains  rising  up  in  the  background. 

The  storm,  too,  had  been  gradually  increasing 
in  violence,  so  that  the  ship  could  not  even  lay 
to  until  daylight,  but  was  obliged  to  take  an 
easterly  course  and  run  before  the  wind,  which 
seemed  suddenly  to  have  altered  its  course,  and 
was  now  blowing  steadily  from  the  northwest— a 
sign,  according  to  Martin  Alonzo,  that  the  storm 
would  presently  abate. 

The  storm,  however,  did  not  trouble  the  sail 
ors  now ;  for  the  prospect  of  soon  fingering 
that  gold  for  which  they  were  all  so  eager  gave 
them  patience  in  the  midst  of  their  impatience. 
It  was  now  that  Diego  was  in  great  demand 
among  them. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  185 

His  merry  humor  and  constant  flow  of  spirits 
had  long  ago  made  him  a  prime  favorite  with 
the  men,  while  his  knowledge  of  the  Indian  lan 
guage  made  him  of  importance.  It  was  to  him 
that  all  questions  relative  to  the  nature  of  Bohio 
were  always  addressed,  and  now  that  the  Pinta 
had  broken  loose  from  the  fleet,  Martin  Alonzo 
had  given  him  permission  to  answer  all  questions 
freety. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  that  Miguel  was 
the  only  one  of  the  crew  who  had  not  taken 
kindly  to  Diego ;  and  his  aloofness  was  due  as 
much  to  his  jealousy  of  Juan's  liking  of  Diego 
as  to  his  own  sullen  temper.  Once  or  twice, 
when  an  occasion  had  offered,  he  had  made  a 
showing  of  being  ready  to  injure  Diego  ;  but  he 
had  been  very  quickly  warned  that  any  such  act 
on  his  part  would  end  disastrously  for  himself, 
and  therefore,  although  it  was  very  well  known 
that  he  was  unfriendly  to  the  boy,  no  one  gave 
it  any  serious  thought,  and  Miguel,  indeed,  al 
ways  acted  as  if  he  had  yielded  to  the  force  of 
public  opinion. 

"  Where  is  Fray  Diego  ?"  asked  Rodrigo  de 
Triana,  on  the  evening  after  Bohio  had  been 
sighted.  The  sailors  had  fallen  into  the  way  of 
calling  him  fray,  partly  as  a  jest  and  partly  be 
cause  his  superior  knowledge  of  book  learning 


186  DIEGO   PINZON. 

seemed  to  make  the  sobriquet  a  natural  and 
proper  one. 

"  Here  he  is,"  answered  Diego,  who,  with  Juan, 
had  been  lying  on  the  deck  near  the  foremast, 
but  in  the  shadow,  so  that  he  had  not  been  rec 
ognizable.  "  What  is  it,  my  son  ?" 

By  way  of  joke  he  often  assumed  the  clerical 
manner,  which  he  mimicked  as  well  as  he  did 
most  things. 

"  Come  hither,  and  tell  us  more  of  this  land 
we  have  sighted,  at  last." 

"  Ay,  do,  good  fray,"  cried  one  after  another 
of  the  men.  Although  a  stiff  gale  was  blowing, 
it  was  not  a  cold  one,  but  rather  laden  with  heat, 
as  if  it  had  come  from  a  warm  region,  and  the 
men  were  lying  about  the  deck,  clad  in  only 
shirts  and  trousers. 

"  Why,"  said  Diego,  "  there  is  nothing  new  to 
tell  you.  I  have  told  you  all  I  know  twenty 
times  over." 

"  Then  tell  us  for  the  twenty-first  time,"  said 
Rodrigo. 

"  How  well  that  worthy  Rodrigo  calculates  !" 
said  Diego,  paternally.  "  He  can  add  one  to 
twenty  and  know  the  result.  It  is  because  he 
has  taken  to  counting  maravedis  lately,  no 
doubt." 

Everybody  laughed,  for  it  was  very  well  known 


DIEGO   PINZON.  187 

that  Rodrigo  had  spent  many  times  over,  in  im 
agination,  the  ten  thousand  maravedis  which 
were  to  be  his  for  first  seeing  land. 

"  If  he  get  them,"  interposed  Miguel,  sourly. 
"Deserters  are  not  like  to  have  many  favors 
shown  them." 

"  Oh,"  interposed  Juan,  who  often  came  be 
tween  Miguel's  crookedness  and  the  anger  of 
the  men,  "  he  will  never  think  again  of  his 
maravedis  after  he  has  been  a  few  days  at 
Bohio,  if  what  Diego  tells  has  but  a  grain  of 
truth  in  it." 

"This  is  Bohio,  then?"  demanded  one  of  the 
men,  eagerly. 

"  The  Indians  say  so,"  answered  Diego,  "  and 
are  so  mightily  afraid  at  the  very  thought  of 
landing  here  that  I  think  they  must  be  right." 

"  They  say  the  inhabitants  are  great  warriors 
and  cannibals,  do  they  not,  Diego  2"  asked  Juan. 

"  They  do,  indeed,"  answered  he. 

"  But  the  gold,"  inquired  one,  as  if  the  ques 
tion  had  not  already  been  asked  and  answered 
a  hundred  times.  "  Do  they  say  there  is  a 
plenty  of  it?" 

"  Plenty  and  plenty  ;  but  what  is  the  use  of 
my  telling  that  so  many  times  ?  By  the  morn 
ing  we  shall  know  all  about  it ;  and  if  we  are 
not  all  roasted  and  served  up  before  we  can  get 


188  DIEGO   PINZON. 

away,  I  have  no  doubt  that  we  shall  all  be  as 
rich  as  we  ought  to  be." 

"  Ay !  if  we  are  not  roasted,"  growled  Miguel. 

"  Have  no  fear,  my  son,"  said  Diego,  in  his 
most  benevolent  tones  ;  "  for  unless  it  should  be 
in  the  dark,  I  doubt  if  any  savage  would  take  so 
much  as  one  bite  of  you.  And  unless  your  flesh 
be  far  sweeter  than  your  temper,  even  the  dark 
ness  would  not  win  you  a  second  bite." 

The  men  laughed  heartily,  and  Miguel  mut 
tered  under  his  breath  ;  while  Juan,  leaning  over 
to  Diego,  whispered  uneasily  : 

"  I  pray  you,  Diego !  You  promised  you 
would  not  torment  him." 

"  Then  let  him  stop  his  croaking.  If  there  be 
mischief,  he  is  in  it.  If  there  be  doubts,  he  has 
bred  them.  Always  scowling  at  me,  and  always 
ready  with  his  eternal  croaking." 

"  It  is  true,  Diego  ;  but  he  is  almost  alone  on 
the  ship  now,  and  you  have  all  the  friends.  Be 
sides,  you  promised  me." 

"  Well,"  said  Diego,  contritely,  "  I  will  try  to 
rule  my  tongue." 

With  his  change  to  better  thoughts  and  feel 
ings,  Juan  had  been  unable  to  continue  the  close 
intimacy  with  Miguel  which  had  been  begun  in 
the  prison ;  but  he  was  of  too  generous  and 
loyal  a  nature  to  cast  him  off,  and  so  he  had  all 


DIEGO    PINZOX.  189 

through  been  placed  in  a  very  uncomfortable 
attitude  towards  him. 

It  is  quite  likely  that  there  would  have  been 
more  said  on  this  occasion  that  would  have  led 
up  to  harder  words,  for  there  is  nothing  your 
idle  sailor  likes  better  than  a  quarrel,  unless  it 
be  a  good  story.  There  was  now,  however,  no 
time  for  either  of  those  time  -  killers ;  for  the 
lookout  suddenly  shouted  that  ominous  word 
which  always  sends  terror  to  the  sailor's  heart : 

"  Breakers  !    Breakers  off  the  starboard  bow !" 

In  an  instant  all  was  confusion,  and  Martin 
Alonzo  was  shouting  orders  that  sent  the  men 
flying  about  the  vessel,  some  here  and  some 
there.  The  Pinta  was  suddenly  brought  about, 
and  pointed  almost  at  right  angles  to  her  course. 
Diego,  Juan,  Eodrigo,  and  Miguel,  quick  to  the 
order  of  the  captain,  had  jumped  into  the  bow, 
and  were  hanging  on  by  the  low  rail,  awaiting 
the  next  word,  when  the  Pinta  swung  around  in 
the  topping  seas. 

The  frail  craft  quivered  and  shook  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  buried  her  nose  in  a  monster 
wave.  When  she  came  up  again  a  cry — wild 
and  terrified — fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  men. 

"  Save  him !  save  him  !  O  Miguel !"  The  cry 
was  from  the  lips  of  Juan. 

And  Kodrigo,  straining  his  eyes  from  the  other 


190 


DIEGO    PINZON. 


side  of  the  deck,  saw  three  terrible  things :  Die 
go  dropping  through  the  blackness  of  the  night, 
Miguel  with  his  hand  upraised,  Juan  leaping 
from  his  place  into  the  air. 

"  Man  overboard  !"  yelled  Eodrigo. 

But  the  ship  was  in  great  danger,  and  no  boat 
could  live  in  such  a  sea ;  and  so,  though  shud 
dering  and  anxious,  Martin  Alonzo  continued  to 
give  orders,  and  the  ship  shot  away  through  the 
waves  after  a  moment  of  quivering  hesitation. 


"DIEGO    DROPPING    THROUGH    THE    BLACKNESS    OF    THE 
NIGHT." 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

DIEGO  was  an  excellent  swimmer,  and  his  in 
stinctive  movement  was  to  keep  himself  afloat 
the  instant  he  found  himself  in  the  water ;  but 
in  his  heart  there  was  nothing  but  despair  and 
hopelessness. 

During  the  few  seconds  that  he  had  hung  by 
the  rail,  he  had  seemed  to  realize  in  a  flash  of 
thought  the  extreme  peril  of  his  case— that  he 
must  fall  into  the  dark  waters,  that  the  ship 
could  never  stop  to  try  to  save  him,  and  that  he 
must  lose  there  the  life  that  had  seemed,  only  a 
few  minutes  before,  so  full  of  joy  and  promise. 

Still,  he  battled  with  the  waves,  turning  his 
back  to  the  wind,  so  that  the  dashing  spray  from 
the  breaking  crests  would  not  smother  him.  He 
cried  out,  his  agony  lending  strength  to  his 
voice;  but  the  wind  outshrieked  him,  and  he 
knew  that  he  had  not  been  heard ;  though,  even 
then,  it  came  as  a  sort  of  melancholy  consolation 
that  it  would  not  have  mattered  if  he  had  been 
heard.  But  then  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  had 
heard  an  answering  cry,  and  for  a  moment  his 


192  DIEGO    PINZON. 

heart  leaped  only  to  sink  again,  and  the  futility 
of  struggling  urged  itself  on  him. 

Oh  !  it  was  quite  certain  to  him  that  he  must 
go  down ;  but  there  is  such  a  love  of  life  implant 
ed  in  us  all  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  give 
up  struggling;  and  so  it  was  with  him.  The 
waves  tossed  him  about,  the  spray  enveloped  him 
so  that  he  could  scarcely  breathe,  his  strength 
was  fast  failing  him,  and  still  he  fought  for  his 
life. 

Then  something  touched  him  on  the  head,  and 
the  horrid  thought  that  it  might  be  a  shark  roused 
him  to  a  sudden  spasmodic  activity.  He  put  his 
hand  out  to  push  it  away — and  what  it  was  he 
did  not  know;  but  it  was  not  a  shark,  and  he 
clung  to  it  with  the  madness  and  the  strength 
of  hope. 

He  caught  the  floating  thing  with  the  other 
hand,  and  he  was  sustained.  New  life  came  to 
him  and  he  felt  over  the  object  to  gain  a  securer 
hold.  He  could  not  quite  make  out  the  extent 
or  nature  of  it,  but  it  struck  him,  with  a  thrill, 
that  it  was  like  an  overturned  canoe.  He  climbed 
as  far  on  it  as  he  could  then,  and  rested  there. 

u— ego-o-o!" 

Surely  that  gurgling,  despairing  cry  sounded 
his  name,  or  wTas  his  mind  affected  by  his  agony  ? 
No,  it  came  again,  and  it  was  close  beside  him — 


DIEGO    PINZON.  193 

only  a  rising  wave  between  him  and  it.     Juan ! 
It  was  Juan's  voice ! 

"  Juan,  Juan !"  he  screamed,  his  heart  filled  at 
once  with  terror  and  joy.  "  Juan,  I  am  here, 
here !" 

He  peered  through  the  gloom,  watching  the 
great  wave  sink  into  a  hollow.  He  listened  with 
sharpened  ears  for  a  repetition  of  the  cry.  The 
wave  sank  and  was  rushing  away,  with  another 
sweeping  in  to  take  its  place,  Diego  riding  on  its 
side,  buoyed  up  by  the  canoe.  Something,  some 
thing — what  was  it  ? — gleamed  on  the  black  sur 
face. 

"  Juan,  Juan !"  screamed  Diego,  and,  at  the 
risk  of  losing  his  hold  on  the  canoe,  he  reached 
out  and  clutched  at  the  floating  thing. 

The  wave  rolled  on,  and  broke  over  the  speck 
of  fighting  humanity;  then  dropped  away, and 
there  was  an  instant  of  calm.  It  was  enough. 
Diego  had  Juan  in  the  grip  of  love  and  loneli 
ness. 

Juan  had  been  on  the  point  of  giving  up ;  but, 
as  with  Diego,  so  with  him ;  he  was  no  sooner 
assured  that  succor  was  at  hand  than  he  revived. 
He  caught  the  side  of  the  canoe — the  canoe  of 
those  Indians  had  a  sort  of  flange  running  around 
it — and  held  there  until  he  could  climb  on  it  as 
Diego  had  done. 
13 


194  DIEGO   PINZON. 

It  was  a  precarious  resting-place,  tossing  about 
on  the  waves,  but  it  was  so  much  better  than 
nothing  that  both  boys  felt,  from  the  moment  of 
touching  it,  as  if  they  should  live  to  see  another 
day.  Neither  of  them  could  find  breath  to  say 
anything  for  a  few  minutes ;  but  in  a  little  while 
Diego  put  his  mouth  close  to  Juan's  ear  and 
said: 

"  The  ship  is  gone." 

"  Yes/'  answered  Juan ;  "  but  I  think  we  are 
safe  here.  Can  you  hold  on  long  enough  ?" 

"  I  think  so.  Did  you  jump  after  me  ?"  The 
thought  had  suggested  itself  to  Diego  at  once 
on  finding  Juan  in  the  water. 

"  Yes ;  I  couldn't  help  it." 

Diego  said  nothing  for  a  few  minutes.  He  was 
thinking  how  true  a  friend  Juan  was ;  but  a  boy 
generally  finds  it  hard  to  express  gratitude  for  a 
service  such  as  Juan  had  wished  to  do  him. 

"  I  can't  fight  you  now,  can  I  ?"  he  said. 

A  strange  thing  to  say,  lying  there  on  an  in 
verted  canoe,  with  the  cold  touch  of  death  almost 
on  them;  but  Juan  understood,  and  that  was 
enough. 

"  Oh,  we  are  quits,"  he  said.  "  I  should  have 
drowned  if  you  had  not  saved  me." 

"  You  wouldn't  have  been  in  danger  if  it  hadn't 
been  for  me,"  said  Diego. 


"HE  REACHED  OUT  AND  CLUTCHED  AT  THE  FLOATING  THING.' 


DIEGO   PINZON.  195 

They  both  laughed  at  that,  as  if  the  absurdity 
of  the  argument  had  struck  them.  It  was  after 
wards,  however,  that  they  laughed  most;  for 
their  situation  was  too  serious  then  for  much 
mirth. 

Fortunately,  Martin  Alonzo  had  prognosticat 
ed  truly,  and  the  storm  that  had  been  raging  for 
so  long  was  subsiding.  Even  so,  the  night  was 
a  long  and  a  hard  one,  what  with  the  fear  of 
being  carried  ashore  and  dashed  to  death  on  the 
rocks,  and  the  danger  of  being  washed  off  their 
canoe  as  their  strength  decreased. 

The  wind  shifted  again,  however,  and  ebb  tide 
must  have  begun  to  run,  for,  whenever  the  boys 
listened  for  the  sound  of  breakers  they  seemed 
far  away ;  and  finally  the  sound  ceased  alto 
gether. 

Morning  broke  at  last,  finding  them  quite  ex 
hausted  and  barely  able  to  cling  to  their  support. 
As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  they  lifted  their 
weary  heads  and  looked  around  them.  To  the 
south  of  them  they  saw  the  coast,  perhaps  five 
miles  distant;  but  to  the  east,  where  the  ship 
should  have  been,  they  saw  nothing  but  water. 

Dawn  is  always  the  most  dismal  time  for  the 
miserable.  Hope  seems  to  take  that  time  for 
slumbering.  The  boys  saw  the  worst  of  their 
case  then.  They  were  deserted  by  their  ship, 


196  DIEGO   PINZON. 

they  were  five  miles  from  shore  on  an  overturned 
canoe,  and  even  if  they  reached  the  shore  it  would 
be  only  to  fall  into  the  clutches  of  cruel  canni 
bals. 

"  Gone !"  was  Diego's  only  word,  as  he  ex 
changed  a  hopeless  glance  with  Juan. 

Juan  shivered — it  is  always  cool  before  dawn 
in  those  latitudes  —  and  cast  one  more  glance 
around,  and  then  let  his  head  fall  upon  his  arms. 
Cold,  hungry,  hopeless !  what  could  be  more 
wretched  ? 

But  the  sun  grew  warm  little  by  little,  and 
hope  revived  within  the  hearts  of  the  castaways. 
They  felt  grateful  for  the  warmth,  but  were  too 
weary  to  lift  their  heads  to  speak ;  then,  too,  the 
sea  was  growing  so  much  smoother  that  it  was 
hardly  more  than  lazily  swelling  now,  and  it 
seemed  to  lull  them  to  sleep. 

The  sun  was  high  and  hot  when  they  awoke ; 
but  it  was  not  his  beams  that  waked  them.  Diego 
had  relaxed  his  hold  on  the  canoe  and  had  rolled 
into  the  water.  He  was  frightened  at  first,  but, 
seeing  that  he  was  quite  safe,  he  quickly  caught 
the  rim  of  the  canoe  and  actually  smiled.  Juan 
smiled  back,  having  been  awakened  by  the  rock 
ing  of  the  canoe  and  the  splashing  of  the  water. 

Diego  climbed  up  on  the  canoe,  and,  having 
taken  a  hasty  glance  around  again,  turned  to 


DIEGO   PINZON.  197 

Juan,  and  said  with  a  great   deal  of  his   old 
spirit : 

"  That  sleep  did  me  good.     I  feel  better." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Juan,  quite  cheerfully. 

"  I'm  desperately  hungry,"  said  Diego.  "  Any 
thing  to  eat  in  your  pockets  ?" 

He  felt  in  his  as  he  spoke,  and  Juan  did  like 
wise.  Both  shook  their  heads  together. 

"  Hawks'  bells  and  beads,"  said  Diego. 

"  That's  all  I  have,"  said  Juan ;  "  but  maybe 
the  ship  will  come  back  for  us." 

"  Sure  to,"  said  Diego,  hopefully.  "  I  say, 
Juan,  don't  you  think  we  might  get  this  canoe 
turned  over  if  we  tried  ?" 

Juan  felt  sure  they  could,  and  so  they  both 
slipped  off  into  the  water  and  struggled  with  it 
as  they  had  often  seen  the  natives  do ;  for  the 
canoes  are  not  at  all  seaworthy  affairs,  and  it 
seemed  quite  a  matter  of  course  to  a  native  to 
turn  over  in  one ;  a  thing  that  was  of  the  less 
consequence,  since  the  Indian  could  swim  like  a 
fish  and  wore  no  clothes  to  get  wet. 

The  boys  presently  had  the  canoe  right  side 
up  and  had  climbed  carefully  into  it.  It  needed 
bailing  out,  and  they  had  but  their  hands  to  do  it 
with,  so  that  it  took  some  time  and  was  imper 
fectly  done  then.  It  permitted  them  to  sit  up 
comfortably,  however,  and  only  their  feet  were 
in  the  water. 


198  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  I  hope  the  cannibals  won't  see  us,"  said  Die 
go,  glancing  apprehensively  towards  the  shore. 

"  I  don't  believe  it  would  matter  if  they  did 
from  there,"  answered  Juan.  "  Do  you?" 

"  I  don't  suppose  it  would.  See !  there  are  a 
great  many  coming  down  to  the  beach  out  of 
the  woods.  I  hope  they  are  not  coming  out  to 
fish.  Do  you  see  any  canoes  ?" 

"  No,"  answered  Juan,  his  heart  rising  up  into 
his  throat.  And  indeed  it  was  a  frightful  thing 
to  contemplate. 

The  boys  lowered  their  voices  in  speaking  to 
each  other  after  that,  and  kept  their  eyes  fixed 
anxiously  on  the  natives  moving  about  on  the 
shore.  Their  actions  seemed  very  strange  to  the 
watching  boys  ;  though  they  afterwards  knew 
that  their  peculiar  antics  were  due  to  catching 
turtles  and  turning  them  on  their  backs. 

By  and  by  they  went  away,  and  the  boys 
breathed  more  freely,  though  still  they  were  filled 
with  anxiety.  If  they  had  had  a  paddle  they 
would  undoubtedly  have  worked  away  from  the 
coast. 

"  I  wonder,"  said  Juan,  after  a  while,  "  if  we 
are  far  from  where  we  went  overboard  ?" 

Diego  had  already  been  wondering  the  same 
thing,  and  had  been  trying  to  work  it  out. 

"  I'm  afraid  we  are,"  he  answered.     "  I  think, 


DIEGO   PINZON.  199 

from  the  looks  of  things,  that  that  mountain  to 
the  east  of  us  is  where  we  nearly  ran  ashore. 
That  is  ten  leagues  away,  at  least." 

"  Then  if  the  ship  does  come  back,"  said  Juan, 
and  stopped  there,  dreading  to  say  what  was  in 
his  thoughts. 

"  Yes,"  said  Diego,  who  understood  him,  "  if 
she  comes  back,  she  will  go  there." 

"  And  will  not  go  hunting  around  for  us,"  sug 
gested  Juan. 

"  Why  should  she  ?"  said  Diego,  and  they  both 
fell  into  a  silence. 

"  Diego,"  said  Juan  presently,  in  a  startled 
tone,  « I  think—" 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  ?"  demanded  Diego, 
glancing  around  in  alarm. 

"  I  think  the  flood  tide  is  taking  us  inshore," 
answered  Juan. 

And  so  it  was  of  a  certainty.  Diego  did  not 
turn  pale ;  for  he  was  already  that,  but  he  showed 
in  his  eyes  how  he  dreaded  such  a  thing.  Then 
he  put  his  hand  on  the  sailor's  knife  which  was 
in  its  sheath  by  his  side,  and  said,  with  a  half- 
sob  : 

"  I  will  fight  till  I  die." 

"  And  I,"  said  Juan.  Then  hope  whispered 
courage,  and  he  said  quickly  ;  "  but  we  may  get 
ashore  undiscovered,  and  be  able  to  make  our  way 


200  DIEGO   PINZON. 

to  the  mountain  yonder.  Then,  if  the  ship  does 
come  back — " 

"  It  will.  It  certainly  will,"  said  Diego,  catch 
ing  eagerly  at  the  hope. 

"  We  shall  be  there  to  meet  her,"  went  on 
Juan.  "  Unless  she  should  come  and  go  before 
we  can  get  there." 

"  Oh,"  said  Diego,  his  courage  rising  with  the 
prospect  of  doing  something  for  himself,  "  if  she 
comes  back  she  will  stay  a  day  or  two  days, 
surely.  Why  not  ?  As  well  come  ashore  at  that 
point  as  another." 

"  Besides,"  said  Juan,  "  we  shall  get  something 
to  eat  ashore,  and  I  am  hungry." 

"  That  maize  bread  would  taste  good,"  said 
Diego,  "  or  potatoes." 

"  Well,"  said  Juan,  sighing,  "  perhaps  these 
cannibals  don't  eat  such  things." 

"  We  can  get  fruit  enough,  anyhow,"  said 
Diego,  shuddering  at  the  thought  of  the  food 
the  people  did  eat. 

They  were  being  carried  inshore  very  percep 
tibly,  and  after  a  little  while  they  crouched  down 
in  the  canoe  and  allowed  nothing  but  their  heads 
to  be  visible.  They  saw  nobody  for  a  long  time, 
and  later  saw  only  a  few  children,  who  returned 
to  the  woods  after  playing  about  for  a  short 
time. 


DIEGO   PINZON.  201 

The  current  set  in  strongest  towards  a  rocky 
promontory,  and  they  were  rejoiced,  indeed, 
when  they  saw  themselves  being  carried  thither 
ward  ;  for,  as  Diego  said,  it  was  very  likely  that 
the  savages  were  very  near  the  shore,  and  only 
remained  in  the  woods  for  the  sake  of  the  shade, 
and  would  be  certain  to  see  them  if  they  were 
to  go  ashore  on  the  open  beach,  whereas  they 
could  go  ashore  under  the  cliff  that  made  the  end 
of  the  promontory,  and  remain  there  in  safety 
until  darkness  came  on,  if  that  should  prove 
necessary. 

The  canoe  approached  the  shore  very  slowly, 
and  they  were  lying  fully  concealed  in  it  at  the 
last,  only  venturing  to  peep  over  the  side  at  long 
intervals  to  see  where  they  were.  The  lapping 
of  the  waves  on  the  shore  was  so  soft  that  the 
boys  could  occasionally  hear  above  it  the  cries 
and  shouts  of  children,  warning  them  that  their 
suspicions  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  people  had 
been  correct. 

""We  shall  be  swept  around  the  cape,"  said 
Diego,  after  looking  up  once. 

"  How  far  off  from  land  are  we  ?"  asked  Juan, 
looking  cautiously  over  the  side. 

"A  hundred  yards,  I  should  say,"  answered 
Diego.  "  Do  you  not  think  so  ?" 

"  Yes.    What  shall  we  do  then  ?" 


202  DIEGO    PINZON. 

"  We  don't  know  what  there  is  the  other  side 
of  the  cape,"  said  Diego,  in  a  whisper.  "  Would  it 
not  be  best  to  swim  ashore  as  soon  as  we  find  our 
selves  off  the  cliff,  rather  than  take  our  chances 
by  going  farther  ?" 

It  was  one  of  those  questions  difficult  to  an 
swer  ;  but  as  it  had  to  be  answered  quickly,  if  at 
all,  Juan  took  the  view  that  Diego  did,  and  they 
decided  to  swim  for  the  cape. 

"  I  think  I  can  do  it,"  said  Diego.  "  Can 
you?" 

Juan  answered  that  he  thought  he  could,  and 
so  they  waited  anxiously  for  the  moment  to 
come,  each  thinking,  but  not  saying,  that  the 
step  might  be  a  fatal  one,  and  each  determined 
to  resist  capture  at  any  cost.  They  watched 
until  the  canoe  had  drifted  past  the  point  of 
rock  that  jutted  from  the  promontory.  Then 
Diego  rose  with  the  intention  of  plunging  off, 
but  sat  down  and  whispered  to  Juan : 

"  We  can't  be  seen  from  the  shore  now.  Let 
us  paddle  with  our  hands  and  get  nearer  in  if 
we  can." 

So  Juan  rose  up  and  saw  that  what  Diego  had 
said  was  quite  true,  and  they  both  immediately 
began  paddling  with  their  hands.  And  they 
soon  found  that  it  was  not  an  idle  thing  to  do, 
and  that  the  canoe  was  getting  at  each  moment 


DIEGO   PINZON.  203 

nearer  the  rocky  shore,  until  it  was  not  more 
than  fifty  yards  away,  when  the  boys  agreed 
that  it  was  time  to  swim. 

So  they  dropped  silently  over  the  side,  one 
after  the  other,  and  swam  with  what  strength 
they  had  for  the  shore.  Fortunately,  for  they 
were  not  in  good  vigor,  the  shore  shelved  off  so 
gradually  that  when  Diego  dropped  his  feet  to 
rest  himself,  he  discovered  that  he  could  touch 
bottom.  Whereupon  he  stood  up  and  reached 
out  his  hand  to  Juan,  who  was  panting  and  mak 
ing  but  a  feeble  stroke. 

They  rested  there  a  moment,  and  then  made 
their  way  ashore,  trembling  at  each  step  lest 
they  should  be  discovered  either  by  a  passing 
canoe  or  by  the  children  in  their  play. 

They  reached  the  shore  in  safety,  however, 
and  would  have  sunk  on  the  first  dry  rock  from 
sheer  exhaustion  had  they  dared.  But  fear  kept 
them  moving,  until  they  had  gained  a  spot  be 
hind  some  jagged  rocks  close  up  under  the  base 
of  the  cliff.  There  they  both  sank  down,  and  it 
was  a  long  time  before  either  moved  or  spoke. 
It  was  Diego  who  spoke  first. 

"  I  did  not  know  how  weak  I  was,"  he  said. 

"  Nor  I,"  answered  Juan.  "  Must  we  lie  here 
until  dark  ?  I  seem  to  be  starving." 

"Do  you  lie  here,"  said  Diego,  "and  I  will 


204:  DIEGO    PINZON. 

steal  to  the  edge  of  the  cape  and  see  what  there 
is  beyond." 

"  Kb,"  said  Juan,  rising  to  his  feet,  "  if  there 
is  a  risk,  let  us  take  it  together.  Besides,  I  feel 
stronger  now.  It  must  have  been  the  sun,  I 
think.  Come !  let  us  go  together.  But  keep  close 
to  the  cliff." 


w 


"THERE  THEY  BOTH  SANK  DOWN." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IT  would  be  hard  by  mere  imagination  to  com 
prehend  the  terrors  the  boys  experienced  as  they 
crept  stealthily  along  the  foot  of  the  cliff*  Be 
fore  reaching  the  corner,  around  which  they 
fancied  they  would  come  upon  another  open 
beach,  they  stopped  many  times,  listening  trem 
blingly  for  some  sound  to  warn  them  of  possible 
danger. 

But  when  they  finally  reached  the  corner  and 
had  peered  around  it  with  the  greatest  caution, 
they  discovered  that  it  broke  into  a  forest,  the 
straggling  trees  of  which  came  almost  to  the 
water's  edge.  Upon  discovering  that,  they 
looked  at  each  other  for  a  moment,  and  then  sat 
down,  pale  and  weary,  to  discuss  their  farther 
movements. 

"  What  shall  we  do  now  ?"  said  Diego. 

"  I  think,"  said  Juan,  "  that  if  I  could  get  a 
few  bananas  to  eat,  and  then  have  a  few  hours  of 
sleep,  I  should  feel  quite  strong  again,  and  could 
go  on.  Night  will  be  our  best  time  for  travel 
ling." 


206  DIEGO   PINZON. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Diego,  "  and  if  we  but  dared 
to  enter  the  wood  yonder,  we  could  get  all  the 
bananas  we  could  eat." 

"  And  hide  in  some  thicket  and  sleep,"  added 
Juan. 

The  need  they  both  had  for  sleep  and  food  de 
cided  them,  and,  after  weighing  all  the  chances 
for  and  against  their  project,  they  fell  on  their 
faces  and  crawled  into  the  wood.  Fortune  fa 
vored  them,  and  enabled  them  to  come  upon 
a  banana -tree  loaded  with  the  luscious  fruit, 
which  they  plucked  and  carried  with  them  into 
a  shaded  natural  bower. 

After  they  had  eaten  all  they  desired,  they 
laid  themselves  down  and  fell  into  a  refreshing 
sleep,  which  even  their  fear  of  cannibals  could 
not  disturb.  When  they  awoke,  the  stars  were 
shining. 

They  first  ate  some  of  the  bananas,  and  then 
discussed  the  route  they  should  take.  It  did  not 
take  them  long  to  decide  that  the  safest  plan,  as 
well  as  the  most  direct  road,  would  be  to  keep 
along  the  beach  as  much  as  was  possible,  climb 
ing  or  skirting  any  cliffs  that  might  interpose 
themselves. 

With  this  plan  in  view,  they  made  their  way 
back  around,  the  cliff,  but  reached  the  other  side 
of  it  only  to  discover  that  it  was  as  crowded 


DIEGO   PINZON.  207 

as  it  had  been  deserted  during  the  day,  the  na 
tives  being  scattered  along  it  for  a  long  distance 
— some  of  them  gathered  around  fires,  at  which 
something  was  evidently  cooking,  and  which 
they  at  once,  with  a  horrible  fear,  fancied  the 
worst  of. 

They  hastened  back  as  they  had  come,  and 
decided  without  loss  of  time  to  strike  into  the 
woods  and  go  back  a  mile  or  more,  and  then 
take  an  easterly  course,  which  would  bring  them 
into  a  nearly  parallel  line  with  the  beach. 

"  I  remember,  now,"  said  Diego,  "  that  the 
villages  of  these  Indians  are  always  near  enough 
to  the  beach  to  enable  them  to  get  to  it." 

"  Yes,"  said  Juan.  "  It  is  either  so,  or  far 
back  in  the  interior," 

But  in  this  they  were  wrong,  and,  so  far  as 
it  concerned  the  island  of  Bohio,  or  Haiti,  as  it 
really  was  called,  they  discovered  their  mistake 
ere  very  long.  They  retraced  their  steps  in  the 
wood  until  they  came  to  where  they  had  slept, 
and  made  a  fresh  departure  from  there.  They 
had  not  gone  two  miles,  however,  before  they 
almost  stumbled  into  a  small  village. 

Greatly  dismayed,  they  made  a  careful  detour 
and  passed  the  village  ;  but  they  were  so  fearful 
of  coming  upon  other  villages  that  they  pro 
ceeded  now  much  more  cautiously.  Even  that 


208  DIEGO  PINZON. 

did  not  help  them  greatly,  however,  for  after 
another  two  miles,  perhaps,  they  came  upon  a 
very  large  village,  and  in  endeavoring  to  go 
around  this  they  became  hopelessly  lost. 

If  they  could  have  seen  the  heavens,  they  could 
have  gained  their  bearings  by  the  stars  ;  but  the 
woods  were  too  dense  for  that,  and  they  would 
have  been  obliged  to  stop  and  wait  for  daylight 
if  Juan  had  not  pointed  out  that  they  were  cer 
tainly  going  up  hill,  which  would  indicate  that 
they  were  going  south,  since  the  hills,  as  they 
had  noticed  from  the  canoe,  ran  east  and  west. 

"  Then  let  us  keep  on  going  up,"  said  Diego, 
"  and  perhaps  we  can  find  a  lookout  to-morrow 
on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  select  a  safer 
course." 

The  advice  was  certainly  good,  and  it  was  not 
difficult  to  follow,  particularly  as  they  fell  in 
with  no  more  villages.  So  they  kept  on,  al 
ways  climbing,  and  occasionally,  now,  gaining  a 
sight  of  the  stars  ;  though  the  forest  remained 
dense  as  far  as  they  went. 

How  far  they  went  they  had  no  means  of 
knowing ;  for  even  the  time  spent  or  the  fatigue 
incurred  was  no  criterion ;  for  while  they  were 
quite  certain  that  they  must  have  been  six  hours 
on  foot,  they  had  wandered  so  much  from  a  di 
rect  path  that  it  was  quite  possible  they  might 


DIEGO   PINZON.  209 

have  gone  but  a  very  short  distance ;   and  they 
had  been  tired  from  the  start. 

As  well  as  they  could  in  the  darkness,  they 
selected  a  sheltered  spot  to  sleep  in,  and  laid 
themselves  down  to  rest.  They  fortunately  had 
no  need  to  think  of  snakes  or  of  other  danger 
ous  reptiles  or  beasts  ;  for  the  only  really  unpleas 
ant  creatures  on  the  islands  were  scorpions,  centi 
pedes,  and  tarantulas,  which  were  not  feared  by 
the  natives,  and  in  consequence  the  voyagers  also 
had  learned  to  hold  them  in  little  fear. 

In  the  shaded  woods  the  morning  sun  had  no 
opportunity  to  awaken  the  boys  until  they  were 
ready  to  open  their  eyes,  and  so  the  day  was  well 
advanced  before  they  roused  themselves. 

"  Ah-h-h  !"  yawned  Diego,  comfortably,  "  I  am 
ready  for  breakfast,  aren't  you  ?" 

"  Sh-sh !"  said  Juan,  and  pointed  through  the 
trees. 

Behind  Diego,  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
distant,  was  an  opening,  a  sort  of  level  plateau 
on  the  mountain-side,  and  straggling  along  the 
side  nearest  the  boys  was  a  village  of  possibly 
two  hundred  huts.  Under  the  shade  of  the  trees 
nearest  the  huts  were  hammocks,  in  which  the 
men  lazily  swung,  while  the  women  worked  leis 
urely  at  their  light  tasks.  Children  played  about 
everywhere. 
14 


210  DIEGO   PINZON. 

Nowhere  had  the  boys  seen  comelier  or  pleas- 
anter  -  looking  women ;  but  nowhere  had  they 
seen  more  forbidding-looking  men.  Their  fore 
heads  sloped  back  abruptly  from  their  eyebrows, 
and  their  faces  were  hideously  streaked  with 
paint.  Moreover,  they  were  taller  and  more 
muscular  in  appearance  than  the  other  Indians 
they  had  seen.  At  least  the  few  men  they  saw 
moving  about  were*,  and  altogether  the  boys 
were  satisfied  that  the  men,  at  least,  looked  the 
cannibals  they  were  reputed  to  be. 

They  did  not  stop  for  any  extended  examina 
tion  of  the  inhabitants  ;  but  stole  away  from  the 
village,  going  higher  up  the  mountain,  as  taking 
them  in  the  direction  they  wished  to  go,  and  as 
promising  to  carry  them  farthest  away  from  the 
village. 

When  they  had  gone  a  sufficient  distance  for 
safety,  they  sought  a  banana-tree  and  plucked  a 
quantity  of  the  fruit  and  ate  it.  It  was  not 
what  they  would  have  eaten  had  they  had  the 
courage  to  make  a  fire  to  cook  by ;  for  they 
could  have  had  potatoes  or  yuca-root ;  but  they 
did  not  dare  do  that,  and  so  they  had  to  be  con 
tent  with  bananas. 

The  mountain  by  this  time  had  begun  to  run 
bare  of  forest  trees,  and  to  become  steeper,  and 
it  was  not  long  after  that  the  boys  found  them- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  211 

selves  free  of  the  woods  altogether,  with  a  patch 
ahead  of  them  of  bare  rugged  rocks.  It  seemed 
quite  improbable  that  any  village  would  be  in 
such  a  spot,  and  they  felt  safe  to  cross  the  open 
space  and  climb  to  the  highest  of  the  rocks,  in 
order  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  ocean. 

They  had  supposed,  from  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  that  these  rocks  were  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  but  when  they  reached  them,  they 
discovered  that  the  mountain-top  was  many  feet 
above  them  still,  and  separated  from  them  by  a 
wooded  valley.  They  obtained  from  the  rocks 
the  view  they  desired,  however,  and  almost  due 
northeast  from  where  they  stood  they  could  see 
running  to  the  water  the  mountains  which  they 
believed  were  the  ones  they  were  seeking. 

"  I  am  sure  of  it,"  said  Juan,  making  a  mental 
calculation  of  how  far  they  had  drifted  and  in 
what  direction. 

"  Look !"  said  Diego,  in  a  choking  voice. 

Juan  followed  his  finger  and  saw  a  sail — the 
Pinta  was  returning  to  find  them. 

"  We  must  hurry,"  said  Diego. 

"How  far  do  you  think  it  is?"  asked  Juan. 
"  Six  or  seven  leagues  ?" 

"  Seven,  I  should  say,"  answered  Diego.  "  Ev 
erything  looks  nearer  in  this  country.  Let  us 
calculate.  The  Pinta  will  reach  there  in,  say, 


212  DIEGO   PINZON. 

three  hours.  She  will  surely  remain  as  many 
more.  Oh,  yes,  she  will  remain  several  hours. 
Why  not  ?" 

He  was  thinking  that  even  if  they  walked 
openly  through  the  country,  and  at  their  best 
speed,  they  could  not  hope  to  reach  the  place 
in  less  than  ten  hours,  allowing  for  losing  their 
way.  Juan  understood  him. 

"  Never  mind,"  he  said.  "  Let  us  start,  and 
we  may  be  able  to  go  a  long  distance  on  the 
mountain -top  without  seeing  a  soul.  Come! 
The  sight  of  the  ship  makes  me  stronger.  How 
glad  they  will  be  to  see  us  !" 

"  Will  they  not  ?" 

"  Tell  me,  Diego,"  said  Juan,  "  I  have  been 
wishing  to  ask  you  and  did  not  dare ;  did  Mi 
guel  knock  you  off  the  yard  ?" 

"  No.     Why  do  you  ask  ?" 

"  Because  when  I  saw  you  falling  I  saw  him 
with  his  arm  upraised,  as  if  he  either  had  struck 
you  or  intended  to," 

"  I  think  he  tried  to  help  me,"  said  Diego ; 
"  but  I  don't  know." 

"  If  the  men  knew  he  was  on  the  yard  with 
you,  and  they  will  be  certain  to,  I  am  afraid  it 
will  fare  ill  with  him.  Come,  let  us  hurry  !" 

So  they  hastened  down  from  their  height,  and 
struck  into  what  seemed  very  much  like  a  travel- 


LOOK  !'    SAID   DIEGO. 


DIEGO   PINZON.  213 

led  way,  it  was  so  easy  to  pass  along.  And  yet 
it  had  no  appearance  of  being  anything  but  nat 
ural,  and  so  they  had  no  suspicion  of  it.  At 
first  the  slope  was  slightly  downward,  but  kept 
all  the  time  in  the  open,  rocky  space.  Then  it 
entered  a  wooded  tract  and  led  them  to  a  pretty 
mountain  stream. 

They  were  tired,  bananas  offered  themselves, 
and  the  water  sounded  so  inviting  either  to 
drink  or  to  bathe  in  that  they  could  not  re 
sist. 

"  Let  us  bathe  and  eat  before  we  go  far 
ther,"  suggested  Diego,  and  they  did  so. 

Diego,  who  was  somewhat  more  particular  in 
the  matter  of  cleanliness  than  the  other  sailors, 
always  carried  his  comb  in  his  pocket,  and  so  he 
and  Juan  made  their  toilet  to  the  extent  of 
smoothing  their  hair;  and  then,  very  much  re 
freshed,  they  got  up  and  pushed  on  again. 

The  woods  were  evidently  only  the  result  of 
the  brook  bringing  moisture  and  soil  to  the 
rocky  tract ;  for  in  a  little  while  the  depression 
ceased,  and  they  emerged  once  more  into  the 
same  rocky  belt. 

"  Hark !"  said  Diego  of  a  sudden.  "  Do  you 
hear  any  noise  ?" 

<;  The  sound  of  drums,  or  something  of  the 
sort?  yes." 


214  DIEGO   PINZON. 

They  stopped  and  listened,  and  the  noise  grew 
distinctly  in  volume. 

"  It  is  coming  nearer,"  cried  Diego  in  alarm. 
"  And  I  hear  voices  singing,  or  howling.  It's 
behind  us.  Juan !  What  shall  we  do  ?  Hide  ! 
yes,  that  is  it ;  hide  !" 

They  looked  all  about  them  for  a  proper  place, 
and  Diego  noticed  a  narrow  cleft  in  the  rocks 
higher  up  to  his  right. 

"  Up  here !"  he  whispered,  and  ran  with  all 
his  speed  followed  close  by  Juan. 

They  were  soon  there,  and  the  cleft  proved  to 
be  a  narrow,  cave-like  opening  the  depth  of 
which  the  boys  could  not  determine,  nor  did 
they  try  to  discover ;  for  all  that  interested 
them  was  the  fact  that  it  offered  a  good  place  of 
concealment  for  them. 

At  the  same  time  it  afforded  them  a  good  view 
of  the  country  they  had  been  traversing,  and 
promised  to  enable  them  to  see  the  new-comers 
without  difficulty.  And  it  fulfilled  its  promise 
in  a  very  few  minutes,  giving  the  boys  a  sight 
of  a  most  extraordinary  and  startling  spectacle. 

From  out  of  the  wood,  not  far  from  where 
they  had  just  come,  there  emerged  a  fantastic 
procession,  which  moved  with  a  rapidity  that 
was  really  remarkable  in  view  of  the  numbers 
of  which  it  was  composed. 


DIEGO   PINZON.  215 

At  the  head  of  it  came  a  man  beating  a  sort  of 
drum  and  moving  at  a  rapid  pace.  Behind  him 
were  perhaps  twenty  men,  all  beating  drums  and 
chanting  at  the  same  time  that  they  performed 
all  sorts  of  singular  antics,  though  without  in 
terfering  with  the  rapid  advance  of  the  proces 
sion.  Behind  them  again  came  hundreds  of 
girls,  dancing  and  singing  in  time  with  each 
other ;  and  behind  them  came  hundreds  more  of 
men  and  women,  also  singing  and  dancing  with 
the  greatest  fervor. 

It  was  some  time  before  the  boys  could  see  all 
of  this  strange  procession — strange  in  itself  and 
stranger  still  for  the  place  it  was  in.  Their  first 
thought,  and  the  one  they  clung  to,  was  that  it 
was  some  horrible  festival  which  would  end  in 
a  cannibal  orgy  in  the  manner  that  had  been 
described  to  Diego  by  the  natives  from  whom 
he  had  learned  to  speak  the  Indian  tongue. 

They  watched  it  with  a  sort  of  fascinated  ab 
horrence,  and  in  their  thoughts  were  deciding 
how  they  would  escape  it  by  climbing  higher  up 
the  mountain.  Nearer  and  nearer  it  came  along 
the  way  they  had  come.  Nearer  and  nearer  to 
where  they  had  turned  to  seek  their  hiding- 
place.  It  was  there. 

"  Juan,"  gasped  Diego,  "  it  is  coming  up  the 
mountain !" 


216  DIEGO   PINZON. 

By  it  he  meant  the  procession ;  and  it  certain 
ly  had  turned  up  almost  in  the  very  footsteps  of 
the  boys.  They  shrank  back,  but  still  watching 
the  coming  crowds,  which,  now  at  the  ascent, 
had  ceased  to  dance,  though  the  singing  and 
drum-beating  continued. 

And  as  they  came  nearer,  the  boys  all  the 
while  wondering  what  their  errand  could  be,  it 
was  easy  to  see  that  the  man  who  led  was  a  per 
sonage  of  importance  ;  for  he  was  covered  with 
ornaments  of  gold,  and  wore  a  coronet  of  the 
same  metal,  with  a  head-dress  of  feathers  rising 
above  it.  The  men  who  followed  him  were  or 
namented  in  quite  another  way,  being  tattooed 
all  over  the  body  with  grotesque  figures. 

The  girls,  who  came  next,  carried  baskets  of 
fruit  and  flowers,  and  were  decked  out  with  gold 
and  other  ornaments.  The  men  and  women 
farther  down  the  line  were  loaded  with  as  much 
as  they  could  carry  in  the  way  of  finery,  but 
carried  neither  fruit  nor  flowers. 

All  of  this  the  boys  could  see  because  they  did 
not  dare  to  stir  and  were  protected  from  observa 
tion  by  the  shrubs  that  grew  about  the  opening 
where  they  had  taken  shelter.  Their  hearts  were 
in  their  mouths  for  fear  of  discovery,  and  they 
crouched  side  by  side,  very  unwilling  spectators 
of  the  scene  that  followed,  and  yet  interested. 


DIEGO  PINZOK  217 

The  leading  person,  whom  the  boys  took  to  be 
either  a  high -priest  or  a  cacique,  approached 
within  twenty  yards  of  the  boys  and  stood  there 
until  an  attendant  hurried  up  with  a  stool  of  a 
dark  polished  wood,  and  placed  it  conveniently 
for  him  to  sit,  he  meanwhile  never  ceasing  to 
beat  his  drum. 

After  he  was  seated,  still  beating  his  drum,  the 
young  girls  with  their  baskets  gathered  near, 
and  the  others  drew  up  in  a  wider  circle,  until 
all  were  up  the  mountain.  Then  the  priests 
made  obeisance  to  the  sitting  man  and  delivered 
a  sort  of  address,  pointing  so  often  directly  at 
the  place  where  the  boys  were  that  Diego,  who 
had  strained  his  ears  to  hear,  caught  Juan  and 
dragged  him  back. 

"  Juan,  Juan !"  he  whispered,  convulsively, 
"  they  are  coming  in  here.  It  must  be  a  sort 
of  cave.  Let  us  run  back  into  it." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

As  swiftly  as  they  dared,  the  two  boys  ran 
back  in  the  cave,  which  proved  to  be  about  fifty 
yards  deep ;  and  when  they  reached  the  other  end 
they  discovered,  to  their  dismay,  that  it  was  not 
as  gloomy  as  they  had  at  first  supposed  on  looking 
into  it  after  gazing  out  into  the  bright  sunlight. 

Besides  the  light  which  came  in  at  the  en 
trance,  more  was  admitted  through  an  opening 
in  the  roof,  so  that,  when  they  stood  at  the  back 
and  looked  fearfully  around  them,  they  could  see 
everything  quite  distinctly.  The  cave  was  far 
more  like  a  hall  cut  in  the  rock  than  like  a  nat 
ural  cave.  It  was  fully  fifty  yards  in  height,  but 
was  comparatively  narrow,  and  the  walls  were 
covered  with  figures  carved  in  the  stone,  and 
images,  like  idols,  were  set  in  niches. 

Part  of  this  the  boys  saw  at  the  time,  and  part 
afterwards.  At  that  moment  they  only  noted 
such  things  as  seemed  to  have  some  bearing  on 
their  situation,  and  were  too  anxious  to  look 
about  them  with  any  idle  curiosity. 

"  It  must  be  a  temple,"  said  Diego,  "  and  the 


DIEGO   PINZON.  219 

savages  have  come  to  worship.  If  we  could  only- 
hide  somewhere." 

But  look  as  they  would  they  could  see  no  place 
where  they  could  conceal  themselves,  and  there 
was  nothing  for  them  to  do  but  to  stand  quite 
still,  flattened  against  the  wall,  as  much  in  the 
shadow  as  possible.  It  was  so  hopeless,  how 
ever,  that  both  drew  their  sheath  knives,  and 
waited  with  such  terror  as  neither  had  ever 
known  before. 

There  was  more  delay  than  they  had  antici 
pated  in  the  entrance  of  the  men,  but  it  was 
explained  when,  in  a  few  minutes,  they  entered 
the  cavern  holding  lighted  torches.  The  tat 
tooed  men  came  first,  and  immediately  upon  en 
tering  set  up  such  a  howling  as  made  the  echoes 
of  the  place  beat  against  each  other  until  the 
din  was  little  less  than  deafening. 

After  the  tattooed  men  came  the  young  girls 
with  the  baskets,  delivering  the  latter  to  the  howl 
ing  men,  and  then  going  in  procession  towards 
the  end  where  the  terrified  boys  stood.  It  was 
inevitable  that  discovery  of  them  should  ensue, 
and  it  did. 

The  girls  came  on  whispering  to  each  other, 
and  unconscious  of  the  boys  until  they  were  al 
most  upon  them,  when  they  stared  full  into  the 
white  faces  that  were  so  unlike  anything  they 


220  DIEGO   PINZON. 

had  ever  seen  before.  The  frightened  girls  stop 
ped,  pressed  back,  and  then  turned  and  fled  with 
loud  screams. 

"The  men  will  come  now,"  said  Juan,  husk- 

iiy- 

"  They  shall  never  take  me  alive,"  said  Diego. 

It  was  not  for  some  time  that  the  tattooed 
men  could  be  made  to  comprehend  that  some 
thing  had  frightened  the  girls  that  was  worthy 
of  their  attention  ;  but  after  hearing  such  expla 
nations  as  the  girls  could  make,  they  caught  up 
some  of  the  torches  and  advanced  in  a  body, 
holding  the  torches  over  their  heads  and  peering 
before  them. 

Their  astonishment,  their  fright  perhaps,  was 
hardly  less  than  that  of  the  girls,  for  they  could 
see  not  merely  the  strange,  white  faces,  but  the 
singular  clothing  and  the  glittering  knife-blades. 
They  spoke  to  each  other  in  quick,  jerky  sen 
tences,  and  advanced  with  the  utmost  caution 
until  they  were  within  ten  yards  of  the  boys. 

They  stared  in  silence,  as  they  stood  there,  and 
the  boys  stared  back.  Then  one  of  the  men, 
seeming  to  pluck  up  courage  to  speak,  addressed 
a  question  to  the  boys. 

"  What  does  he  say  ?"  whispered  Juan. 

"  I  don't  understand  all  the  words,"  answered 
Diego,  "  but  I  think  he  wants  to  know  who  we 


"CAUGHT    UP    SOME   OF    THE    TORCHES  AND  ADVANCED   IN   A 
BODY." 


DIEGO   PINZON.  221 

are.  From  the  way  he  asks  he  seems  to  think 
we  are  gods." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Juan,  "  if  we  can  make  them 
think  so  they  won't — won't — "  he  was  going  to 
say  "eat 'us,"  but  changed  it  to  "  hurt  us." 

Diego  had  thought  of  the  same  thing.  The 
other  Indians  had  readily  believed,  without  any 
suggestion  from  the  voyagers,  that  they  were 
from  the  skies.  Why  should  not  these  ?  He 
spoke  to  them  in  the  tongue  he  knew. 

"  We  are  from  the  skies.  We  will  not  do  you 
any  harm  if  you  do  not  molest  us." 

The  men  listened  attentively,  and  the  boys 
could  see  the  cave  beyond  them  crowded  full  to 
the  very  entrance.  When  Diego  had  ceased  to 
speak,  the  men  consulted  among  themselves  in  a 
puzzled  way,  as  if  trying  to  make  out  the  full 
sense  of  what  they  had  heard. 

Then  they  drew  nearer  and  approached  until 
they  were  within  arm's-length  of  the  boys,  who 
watched  them  uneasily,  but  without  knowing 
how  to  act ;  for  the  actions  of  the  men  were  not 
merely  pacific,  but  even  conciliatory.  Diego  drew 
a  long  breath  and  whispered  to  Juan : 

"  I  think  we'd  better  act  as  if  we  were  not 
afraid." 

It  was  more  easily  suggested  than  accomplished, 
but  it  was  so  plainly  the  only  thing  to  do,  and  the 


222  DIEGO   PINZON. 

men  were  so  mild  in  their  manner,  that  Diego 
gained  courage  to  act  upon  a  sudden  inspiration. 
He  took  a  hawk's  bell  from  his  pocket  and, 
jingling  it,  gave  it  to  the  man  nearest  him. 

The  effect  upon  him  and  upon  all  those  who 
heard  the  tinkling  sound  was  magical.  The}7 
stared  with  wonder  and  delight,  not  unmixed 
with  awe,  and  crowded  about  the  man  who  had 
taken  it,  and  listened  enraptured  while  he  shook 
it  to  produce  the  noise. 

From  that  it  was  but  a  short  step  to  getting 
closer  to  the  boys  and  touching  their  faces  with 
gentle  hands,  feeling  of  their  clothing,  and  ex 
claiming  with  wonder.  And  Diego  could  make 
out  that  the  tattooed  men  were  explaining  to 
the  girls  that  the  bell  was  from  the  skies,  and 
that  the  boys  had  come  down  to  do  them 
good. 

Meanwhile  the  news  of  what  had  happened, 
no  doubt  with  extraordinary  exaggerations,  had 
travelled  back  through  the  hall,  and  had  found  its 
way  to  the  cacique  outside.  He  became  impa 
tient,  and  voices  were  heard  shouting  something 
from  the  entrance,  which  had  the  effect  of  clear 
ing  the  hall. 

The  tattooed  men  thereupon  made  unmistaka 
ble  signs,  accompanied  by  words  which  Diego 
could  understand,  inviting  them  to  go  into  the 


DIEGO   PINZON.  223 

open  air  with  them.  As  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  to  accept  the  invitation,  the  boys  did  it 
with  what  grace  they  could,  and  were  presently 
in  the  centre  of  a  wondering  crowd  of-  men  and 
women,  who  were  staring  at  them  with  even 
greater  surprise  than  had  been  accorded  them  in 
the  hall,  where  the  fairness  of  their  skins  had 
not  been  so  apparent. 

The  cacique,  as  in  fact  he  turned  out  to  be, 
questioned  the  boys,  and  Diego  answered  as  well 
as  he  could ;  though  neither  more  than  half 
understood  the  other.  The  chief  thing  to  the 
boys,  however,  was  that,  in  spite  of  the  hideous 
faces  of  the  men,  there  was  not  evinced  the 
slightest  disposition  to  do  them  any  harm  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  these  supposed  cannibals  were 
as  mild  and  friendly  as  any  of  the  natives  they 
had  yet  seen. 

Indeed,  the  cacique  was  the  very  reverse  of 
fierce ;  and  when  the  bell  was  handed  him  for  his 
examination,  he  immediately  began  shaking  it, 
and  presently  was  dancing  with  great  activity  to 
its  music,  to  the  evident  admiration  of  his  sub 
jects.  This  seemed  to  Diego  a  good  opportunity 
to  present  another  bell,  so  he  took  one  from  his 
pocket  and  thrust  it  into  the  empty  hand  of  the 
cacique  as  he  jumped  about,  and  the  savage  was 
so  stimulated  by  the  gift  that  he  whirled  faster 


224:  DIEGO   PINZON. 

and  faster,  singing  all  the  time,  until  he  sank  ex 
hausted  on  the  ground. 

This  was  very  edifying  to  the  cacique's  sub 
jects,  and  equally  pleasant  to  the  boys,  for  they 
had  had  enough  experience  with  the  Indians  to 
know  that  they  intended  no  harm  to  them. 


CHAPTEE  XXV. 

BEING  relieved  of  immediate  fear,  though  still 
uneasy  for  the  future,  the  boys  endeavored  to 
make  the  Indians  understand  that  they  wished 
to  go  to  the  mountain  range  to  the  northeast, 
visible  from  where  they  stood.  And,  at  Juan's 
suggestion,  Diego  persuaded  the  tattooed  men, 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  priests,  or  Butios,  to 
climb  higher  up  to  where  a  better  view  of  the 
ocean  was  visible. 

There  he  searched  the  horizon,  and  to  his  joy 
saw  the  Pinta  still  making  her  Avay  to  the  rocky 
headland,  her  full  spread  of  sail  giving  her  the 
appearance  of  a  monstrous  bird.  Diego  pointed 
her  out  to  the  Butios,  and  told  them  it  was  on 
her  that  he  and  Juan  had  come  out  of  the  sky. 

This  was  evidently  a  satisfactory  and  gratify 
ing  proof  of  the  origin  of  their  visitors,  and  pres 
ently  the  cacique  was  assisted  up  the  mountain 
side,  that  he,  too,  might  look  on  the  marvel,  and 
after  that  the  whole  assemblage  came  up,  and 
felt  themselves  blessed  with  the  extraordinary 
sight. 
15 


226  DIEGO    PINZON. 

Then  Diego  explained  that  he  and  Juan  must 
go  down  to  the  beach  and  wait  for  the  coming 
of  the  ship,  and  promised  the  Butios  great  quan 
tities  of  bells  and  beads  if  they  would  take  them 
thither.  And,  to  give  emphasis  to  his  words,  he 
and  Juan  showed  in  their  hands  the  beads  and 
bells  they  had  with  them. 

Well,  the  Butios  marvelled,  and  showed  in 
many  ways  that  they  fully  comprehended  the 
meaning  of  Diego's  words  and  gestures,  and  that 
it  would  fill  them  with  great  joy  to  have  more 
of  the  bells,  together  with  some  of  the  beads ; 
but  they  also  made  it  plain  that  they  were  not 
at  all  disposed  to  part  with  their  heavenly  visit 
ors.  And  they  gave  Diego  to  understand  that, 
much  as  it  grieved  them  to  cross  their  cherished 
visitors,  they  yet  could  not  help  but  take  them 
with  them  to  the  interior  of  the  island,  pointing 
to  the  southeast  as  they  spoke. 

"  We'll  have  to  go,"  said  Diego.  "  I  don't  be 
lieve  they  will  hurt  us  at  all,  and  we  will  be  safe 
enough.  From  w  hat  I  can  make  out,  this  cacique 
is  only  an  inferior  one,  and  he  would  not  dare  to 
let  us  go  without  showing  us  to  his  superior, 
whom  they  call  Caonabo.  And  they  talk  of  Ci- 
bao,  which  I  think  must  be  the  Zipangu  of  which 
the  admiral  has  said  so  much,  for  you  can  see 
what  quantities  of  gold  these  people  have." 


DIEGO    PINZON.  227 

"  But  if  we  go,"  said  Juan,  "  we  shall  lose  the 
ship." 

"  Well,"  said  Diego,  "  we  have  no  choice  but 
to  go.  What  I  meant,  however,  was  this :  Let 
us  pretend  to  go  willingly,  and  so  put  them  off 
their  guard  until  we  can  lind  the  opportunity  to 
slip  away." 

"  That  is  it,"  said  Juan,  "  and  while  we  are 
with  them  we  can  exchange  our  bells  and  beads 
for  gold,  and  so  return  to  the  ship  loaded 
with  it." 

It  was  the  best  plan  they  could  devise,  and 
worked  better  than  well,  so  far  as  the  exchange 
of  their  bells  for  gold  was  concerned ;  for  when 
Diego  took  up  some  of  the  gold  ornaments  of  the 
men  and  showed  his  interest  in  them,  they  were 
offered  to  him  with  a  generous  willingness  that 
asked  for  no  return. 

Neither  he  nor  Juan  would  take  advantage 
of  the  generosity,  however,  but  gave  in  return 
the  glass  beads  which  they  had.  They  would 
have  given  them  all  away  had  not  the  cacique 
interposed,  making  them  understand  that  he 
wished  some  saved  for  the  cacique  Caonabo,  and 
telling  them  that  if  gold  was  desired  by  them 
they  had  only  to  wait  to  obtain  all  they  could 
wish. 

The  boys  would  have  preferred  to  get  their 


228  DIEGO    PINZON. 

booty  at  once,  but  yielded,  thinking  that  what 
they  had  was  enough  to  make  them  rich.  How 
they  wished  they  could  communicate  with  Mar 
tin  Alonzo,  and  let  him  know  that  they  had  at 
last  discovered  that  Zipangu,  the  land  of  gold,  for 
which  they  had  sought  so  long  and  at  last  so 
hopelessly ! 

That  was  not  to  be  just  yet,  however,  for  the 
cacique  gave  orders  for  a  return,  not  merely 
down  the  mountain,  as  it  turned  out,  but  to  the 
place  they  had  come  from,  putting  the  boys  in 
the  especial  care  of  the  Butios,  who  proved  a 
faithful  guard  over  them,  and  watched  them 
jealously.  Not,  as  it  seemed,  that  they  feared 
an  escape,  but  that  they  held  them  so  pre 
cious. 

As  soon  as  the  bo}rs  settled  to  the  conviction 
that  escape  at  present  was  quite  out  of  the  ques 
tion,  they  remembered  that  they  were  hungry, 
and  conveyed  that  information  to  the  Butios, 
who  no  sooner  understood  it  than  they  called  a 
halt,  and  procured  them  not  only  cakes  of  maize 
flour  and  roasted  yuca,  but  brought  them  for 
drink  small  calabashes  of  a  sort  of  liquid  which 
they  called  cocoa,  and  which  the  boys  found  very 
refreshing. 

After  that  they  went  on  again,  and  in  the 
woods  wrhere  the  boys  had  bathed,  they  stopped 


DIEGO   PINZON.  229 

long  enough  to  procure  litters  for  the  boys  and 
for  the  cacique,  and  in  these  the  journey  was 
continued. 

At  first  they  returned  along  the  way  the  boys 
had  just  come ;  but  in  a  little  while  they  turned 
to  the  south  and  crossed  the  mountains  by  an 
easy  pass,  and  presently  could  look  down  on  a 
beautiful  and  fertile  valley.  For  half  a  day's 
journey  the  whole  party  went  together ;  but  com 
ing  then  to  a  village  of  considerable  size,  a  stop 
was  made  and  the  party  separated,  scattering 
to  their  homes. 

After  that  the  progress  they  made  was  swift 
er,  the  party  consisting  only  of  the  cacique,  ten 
of  the  Butios,  and  a  body-guard  of  twenty  war 
riors,  armed  with  war-clubs  and  long,  heavy 
swords  of  some  hard,  polished  wood,  showing 
that,  however  gentle  the  men  might  be  with 
their  visitors,  they  had  it  in  their  natures 
to  fight  if  there  were  occasion,  differing  in 
this  from  the  other  Indians  the  boys  had 
seen. 

For  several  days  they  travelled,  their  fame  pre 
ceding  them  and  causing  their  progress  through 
the  valley  to  be  a  sort  of  triumphal  march.  At 
each  village  they  were  respectfully  shown  to  the 
wondering  inhabitants,  and  the  cacique  occasion 
ally  favored  the  other  caciques  with  a  dance  to 


230  DIEGO    PINZON. 

the  music  of  the  bells.  And  at  each  village  it 
seemed  to  be  known  that  the  visitors  desired 
gold,  for  there  was  always  awaiting  them  either 
rings,  bracelets,  or  what  they  learned  to  prefer, 
nuggets  of  virgin  gold.  The  nuggets  were  of 
various  sizes,  the  largest  being  two  of  the  size  of 
a  hen's  egg,  each. 

Diego  and  Juan  gave  a  bell  to  each  cacique  as 
they  went  along,  and  it  was  manifest  that  the 
cacique  considered  himself  very  much  favored 
and  overpaid  in  receiving  such  a  treasure  for  his 
paltry  gold.  And  it  was  also  plain  that  the  Bu- 
tios  grudged  each  bell  given  away ;  not  appar 
ently  from  any  lack  of  generosity,  but  because 
they  disliked  to  see  the  favors  of  heaven  made 
so  common. 

As  the  days  passed  and  Diego  became  more 
familiar  with  the  language,  he  was  enabled  to 
relieve  his  mind  on  the  one  subject  of  their  great 
est  uneasiness.  He  discovered,  without  being 
obliged  to  ask  the  unpleasant  question,  that  the 
natives  were  not  cannibals,  and  that  they  de 
tested  their  Carib  neighbors  as  much  as  any 
one  could. 

The  relief  it  was  to  the  boys  to  learn  this  can 
hardly  be  imagined  ;  for  it  had  not  failed  to  cross 
their  minds  that  they  were  being  most  remark 
ably  well  fed  and  cared  for,  and  that  naturally 


DIEGO     PINZON.  231 

suggested  the  notion  of  being  fattened  for  a  pur 
pose. 

There  still  remained  the  uneasiness  about  the 
ship  ;  but  although  they  had  done  all  they  could 
to  make  an  opportunity  to  escape,  they  had  not 
yet  succeeded.  They  would  have  lost  trace  of 
the  passage  of  time,  had  not  Diego  thought  of 
making  a  notch  on  a  stick  with  his  knife  to  mark 
each  day. 

The  knives,  by  the  way,  were  objects  of  great 
curiosity  to  the  Indians,  who  had  never  seen  iron 
in  any  of  its  forms  before,  and  who  marvelled 
greatly  at  the  keenness  of  the  blades.  One  of 
the  warriors  of  their  guard  wished  to  test  the 
properties  of  the  blade  by  running  it  across  his 
fingers  ;  but  Diego  prevented  him  and  displayed 
the  sharpness  of  the  edge  by  slicing  a  banana  in 
thin  sections.  Instead  of  curing  the  man  of  his 
desire,  however,  it  seemed  to  make  him  only 
more  eager  for  his  own  test,  and  Diego,  shrug 
ging  his  shoulders,  let  him  suit  himself.  Of 
course  the  knife  cut  his  fingers,  but,  so  far  from 
being  distressed  by  it,  the  simple  fellow  seemed  to 
feel  that  he  was  to  be  envied  ;  and  so  it  appeared 
did  the  others,  for  they  would  all  have  cut  them 
selves  had  the  boys  been  willing  to  permit  them 
to  do  so. 

It  was  not  until  the  tenth  day  after  starting 


232  DIEGO    PINZON. 

on  the  journey  that  they  reached  the  village  of 
the  grand  cacique,  Caonabo.  The  boys  were  cu 
rious  to  see  a  chief  of  whom  they  had  heard 
so  much  during  their  progress  through  his  do 
minions,  and  they  certainly  w^ere  impressed  by 
the  fact  that  instead  of  going  out  to  meet  them 
with  his  warriors,  as  the  other  caciques  had  done, 
he  merely  sent  a  deputation  to  meet  them  and 
conduct  them  to  him. 

The  village  was  a  large  one  and  very  popu 
lous,  though  not  a  whit  more  civilized  in  appear 
ance  than  any  of  the  other  villages,  so  that  the 
boys  could  not  help  wondering  if  the  stories 
about  Zipangu  had  not  been  exaggerated  by  the 
travellers  who  had  been  there.  Certainly  there 
was  gold  enough ;  but  the  palace  was  not  roofed 
with  it,  and  if  it  had  been — the  palace  being  a 
mere  hut — it  would  not  have  come  to  much. 

The  population  was  all  out  to  gaze  on  the  won 
derful  beings  from  the  skies,  and  they  wore  a 
great  quantity  of  gold  on  their  otherwise  naked 
bodies ;  but  such  was  their  respect  for  their 
cacique  that  none  of  them  dared  make  any  ad 
vances  to  the  strangers  until  they  had  had  an 
audience  with  him. 

"  I  begin  to  be  a  little  afraid  of  this  Caonabo, 
of  whom  his  own  people  stand  in  such  awe," 
said  Diego. 


v  *  ••  "• 


OF   COURSE   THE   KNIFE   CUT  HIS  FINGERS. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  233 

"  And  I  also,"  said  Juan ;  "  but  here  we  are, 
and  we  shall  soon  know  what  he  thinks  of  us. 
I  hope  he  will  think  well  enough  of  us  to 
do  us  no  harm,  but  not  well  enough  of  us  to 
keep  us." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

C  AON  ABO,  Cacique  of  Maguana,  differed  so  strik 
ingly  in  his  appearance  and  manner  from  his 
subjects  that  the  boys  were  struck  by  it  at  their 
first  glance  at  him.  He  was  not  only  larger  and 
more  muscular,  but  he  bore  himself  with  a  hau 
teur  and  dignity  that  any  Old  World  monarch 
might  have  envied. 

He  eyed  the  boys  with  wonder,  it  is  true,  but 
there  was  something  in  his  manner  that  made 
Diego  mutter  to  Juan  : 

"  I'm  afraid  he  won't  accept  the  story  of  our 
descent  from  the  skies." 

"  And  he  looks  fierce  enough  for  a  cannibal," 
said  Juan. 

They  afterwards  learned  that  Caonabo  was,  in 
fact,  a  Carib  and  a  cannibal,  who  had  come  to 
the  island  from  his  own  home,  when  he  was  a 
young  man,  and  who  had  won  his  place  as  the 
most  powerful  and  most  feared  of  the  island  ca 
ciques  by  his  courage  and  his  sagacity. 

He  was  kind  enough  to  them,  though,  as  Die 
go  had  said,  he  did  not  act  with  any  such  awe  of 


DIEGO    PINZON.  235 

them  as  the  other  caciques  had  done.  He  asked 
questions,  which  Diego  answered  as  well  as  he 
could,  and  he  examined  curiously  their  clothing, 
knives,  and  bells. 

"  I  think  from  his  looks,"  said  Diego  to  Juan, 
"  that  he  would  give  more  for  the  knives  than 
for  all  the  bells  in  the  world." 

And  that  was  undoubtedly  true ;  but  he  did 
not  say  so,  and  was  as  scrupulously  honest  as 
the  meanest  of  his  subjects  had  been.  Honesty, 
indeed,  next  to  hospitality,  was  the  virtue  held 
in  highest  esteem  among  these  islanders.  Theft 
was  so  heinous  an  offence  that  it  was  punished 
by  death. 

It  seemed  to  strike  Caonabo  as  a  singular  thing 
that  his  guests  should  care  so  much  for  gold ; 
though,  indeed,  the  boys  had  found  it  so  easy 
to  possess  that  it  no  longer  had  any  charms  for 
them,  and  if  they  had  not  hoped  to  rejoin  the 
ship,  they  would  not  have  taken  two  steps  to 
procure  a  ton  of  the  yellow  metal.  It  seems  so 
true  that  a  thing  is  valued  only  in  proportion  as 
it  is  desired  by  others. 

However,  Caonabo  had  no  objection  to  having 
the  boys  procure  all  the  gold  they  desired,  and 
he  would  not  permit  them  to  give  their  bells  for 
it ;  though  he  afterwards  accepted  the  bells  which 
were  offered  him,  when  Diego  made  him  under 
stand  that  they  were  a  gift. 


236  DIEGO   PINZON. 

What  Caonabo  coveted  was  one  of  the  knives. 
He  took  one  in  his  hand,  and  tested  the  blade  on  a 
piece  of  wood ;  and  when  Diego  showed  him  how 
it  could  be  used  to  pierce  with,  he  buried  it  in  a 
calabash  which  lay  near  him  with  such  an  air  of 
its  being  alive  that  Diego  procured  the  knife  back, 
and  would  not  again  part  with  it. 

"If  we  are  going  to  run  away,"  said  Diego, "  I 
would  prefer  that  he  should  not  have  that  to  try 
on  me." 

Running  away,  however,  seemed  every  day  less 
feasible.  The  boys  had  been  provided  with  a  hut, 
and  Butios  had  been  assigned  to  them  to  see  that 
they  lacked  no  comforts,  and  every  measure  had 
been  taken  as  if  it  were  the  fixed  design  of  Cao 
nabo  to  keep  them  with  him. 

He  had  sent  the  cacique,  who  had  first  discov 
ered  the  boys,  back  to  his  own  country,  and  the 
Butios  had  gone  with  him,  very  much  to  their 
disgust  at  being  obliged  to  part  with  their  treas 
ure  ;  though  the  boys  had  consoled  them  by  giv 
ing  each  Butio  a  bell. 

Finding  their  lives  to  be  in  no  danger  what 
ever,  the  boys  made  all  the  preparations  for  flight 
that  they  very  well  could.  Diego,  on  the  plea  of 
seeing  where  the  gold  was  procured,  was  taken, 
in  different  directions,  from  the  viMage  to  the 
rivers  where  the  gold  lay  in  grains  and  tiny  nug- 


DIEGO    PINZON.  237 

gets  at  the  bottom.  He  was  glad  to  see  the  gold, 
but  what  he  cared  most  for  was  the  acquaintance 
he  and  Juan  gained  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Moreover,  he  asked  questions  of  different  per 
sons  until  he  had  learned  that  the  sea  lay  about 
equidistant  from  them  on  either  side  of  the  island. 
And  from  one  old  man,  who  had  journeyed  much, 
he  learned  that,  in  a  lovely  valley  to  the  north  of 
them,  on  either  side  of  the  Cibao  Mountains,  a 
beautiful  river  ran  down  to  the  sea,  and  entered 
it  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain-chain  that  lay  par 
allel  to  the  Cibao  Mountains. 

Then,  there  was  the  matter  of  the  gold.  It 
was  valueless  to  them  now  that  they  had  it 
heaped  in  an  ignominious  pile  in  a  corner  of  the 
hut;  but  they  knew  it  would  regain  its  value 
when  it  was  on  the  ship,  and  so  they  questioned 
themselves  what  to  do  about  it. 

After  going  over  the  matter  a  great  many 
times,  they  determined  to  make  a  belt  each,  of 
the  skin  of  a  little  animal  called  the  coati,  in 
which  to  put  as  many  nuggets  as  they  could. 
No  one  suspected  their  object  in  fastening  the 
gold  to  the  belts,  the  generally  received  opinion 
being  that  it  was  a  sort  of  religious  ceremony. 

They  had  no  idea  of  the  value  in  Spanish  coin 
of  the  pile  of  gold  they  had  collected ;  but  when 
their  belts  were  finished,  they  found  them  to 


238  DIEGO    PINZON. 

weigh,  each,  not  less  than  twenty  pounds.  They 
tried  them  on,  and  felt  so  dubious  of  the  com 
fort  of  such  heavy  belts  that  they  were  tempted 
to  throw  off  some  of  the  weight ;  but  Juan  sug 
gested  that  they  could  throw  the  gold  away  at 
any  time,  and  that  it  wrould  be  very  pleasant  to 
go  aboard  the  Pinta  so  laden. 

That  was  true  enough,  and  so  they  left  the 
belts  as  they  had  made  them,  and  hung  them  in 
their  hut,  where  afterwards  they  discovered  the 
natives  looking  at  them  in  great  awe.  And  the 
Butios  asked  permission  to  carry  them  in  proces 
sion  to  show  to  their  Zemes,  as  they  called  their 
idols. 

Many  times  they  thought  of  attempting  es 
cape,  but  whenever  they  essayed  it  they  discov 
ered  themselves  to  be  very  closely  watched,  so 
that  they  were  obliged  to  give  up,  unless  they 
were  willing  to  use  violence ;  and  that  they  were 
afraid  to  do,  even  if  it  had  been  feasible,  and 
they  were  not  sure  that  it  was.  By  this  time 
they  had  been  absent  nearly  three  weeks  from 
the  ship,  and  they  were  so  uneasy  that  they  were 
nearly  beside  themselves,  though  compelled  not 
to  betray  it  to  their  host. 

Then,  one  night,  their  opportunity  came.  It 
came  in  a  singular  way,  too.  The  people  were 
passionately  fond  of  dancing,  and  knew  no  mod- 


DIEGO   PINZON.  239 

eration  in  it.  They  would  often  dance  as  the 
boys  had  seen  the  cacique  do,  who  had  discov 
ered  them  at  the  cave,  keeping  on  their  feet  un 
til  their  strength  was  exhausted,  and  then  drop 
ping,  almost  fainting,  to  the  earth. 

Sometimes,  too,  the  men  would  drink  a  sort  of 
wine  made  from  the  maize,  when  they  had  danced 
until  they  had  dropped,  and  then  they  would  be 
stupid,  and  would  sleep  where  they  had  fallen 
until  morning  came.  But  in  these  cases  there 
were  always  some  of  the  Butios  who  would  keep 
their  senses  and  watch  over  the  boys. 

But  on  the  occasion  spoken  of  it  was  not  wine 
to  which  the  fallen  dancers  resorted,  but  to  the 
dried  leaf  of  a  plant  which  had  been  placed  in  a 
hollow  dug  in  earth  and  there  set  a-smouldering. 

The  boys  had  seen  this  same  leaf  used  in  Cuba, 
but  in  a  different  way.  There  the  Indians  had 
rolled  it  into  a  sort  of  stick,  which  they  called 
a  tobacco,  one  end  of  which  was  taken  into  the 
mouth  and  the  other  end  lighted,  so  that  by  suck 
ing  at  the  stick  a  quantity  of  the  smoke  from  the 
ignited  plant  would  be  drawn  into  the  mouth, 
thereby  causing  the  person  so  employed  a  pleas 
urable  sensation.  At  least  the  natives  had  de 
clared  this  to  be  the  case  ;  though,  when  the  boys 
had  tried  it,  they  had  had  lively  emotions  of  sick 
ness  in  their  stomachs. 


240  DIEGO    PINZON. 

On  this  island  the  leaves  were  placed  in  the 
hollow  spoken  of,  and  then  ignited  and  smoth 
ered,  so  that  the  smoke  would  rise  from  it  in  vol 
umes.  "When  it  had  come  to  this  pass  the  In 
dians  would  lie  down  by  it  with  a  hollow  tube 
of  wood  shaped  like  a  Y,  the  two  prongs  of  which 
were  so  arranged  as  to  fit  in  the  nostrils  of  the 
smoker.  Then  the  disengaged  end  would  be 
thrust  into  the  smoke,  which  would  then  be  in 
haled  until  the  smoker  would  fall  over  in  a  stupor. 

On  a  certain  festival,  which  came  while  the 
boys  were  there,  and  fortunately  at  a  time  when 
the  Butios  had  lost  all  fear  of  the  boys  escaping, 
though  they  had  not  relaxed  their  watchfulness, 
the  dancing  was  ended  by  an  indulgence  in  a 
smoke. 

The  women  took  part  in  the  dancing,  but  not 
in  the  smoking,  so  that  they  would  have  been 
able  to  watch  the  boys  if  they  had  thought  it 
necessary ;  but  they  did  not,  and  the  Butios  were 
so  anxious  for  the  indulgence  that  they  could 
not  restrain  themselves. 

At  first,  when  the  dancing  began,  the  boys  did 
not  realize  what  it  was  to  result  in,  and  they  had 
no  thoughts  of  getting  away  that  night,  but 
stood  apart  from  the  dancers,  thinking  how 
strange  a  sight  it  was  to  see  all  those  men  and 
women  whirling  about  by  the  light  of  the  flames 


DIEGO    PINZON. 

that  seemed  themselves  to  be  dancing  as  they 
leaped  up  from  the  bonfires. 

But  after  a  while  they  saw  how  the  men  would 
fall  down  and  become  stupid,  and  Juan  pointed 
out  how  the  Butios  were  dancing  and  smoking 
with  the  others.  That  gave  them  their  first  hope 
of  escape,  and  after  that  they  watched  eagerly 
to  see  if  the  Butios  had  really  forgotten  them. 

It  was  quite  late  before  they  could  be  sure 
that  they  might  escape  without  fear  of  being 
noticed ;  but  they  knew  that  it  would  be  late  in 
the  morning  before  the  men  would  recover  their 
senses,  and  that  they  would  be  able  to  go  many 
miles  if  they  made  good  use  of  their  time. 

So  they  stole  back  to  their  hut,  put  on  their 
gold-belts,  and  started  off  in  the  direction  of  the 
Cibao  Mountains,  as  they  had  so  often  talked  of 
doing.  They  went  with  many  misgivings ;  for, 
not  only  was  there  the  fear  of  the  wrath  of  Cao- 
nabo,  should  they  be  captured  and  taken  back, 
but  there  was  the  risk  of  not  finding  the  ship, 
and  of  being  obliged  to  remain  on  the  island  at 
the  mercy  of  other  Indians,  not  as  friendly,  per 
haps,  as  Caonabo. 

They  had  no  hesitation  because  of  their  fears, 
however,  but  sped  away  under  cover  of  the  friend 
ly  darkness,  and,  thanks  to  the  care  with  which 
they  had  studied  the  country  all  about  the  vil- 
16 


242  DIEGO    PINZON. 

lage,  they  were  enabled  to  take  the  right  way 
without  stopping  to  consider. 

They  were  in  excellent  condition,  too,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  the  load  each  carried  at  his  waist 
they  would  have  been  able  to  go  twenty-five  miles 
before  dawn.  As  it  was,  they  did  not  go  more 
than  fifteen  miles,  and  were  terribly  fatigued  then, 
and  glad  to  lie  down  and  rest. 

When  they  awoke,  later  in  the  morning,  they 
found  themselves  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  moun 
tains,  with  many  good  places  for  hiding  all  about 
them.  They  stole  out  to  procure  some  fruit,  and 
then  returned  to  their  hiding-place,  and  watched 
and  slept,  each  in  his  turn.  Twice  they  saw  some 
of  Caonabo's  warriors,  though  not  men  they  rec 
ognized,  and  they  did  not  seem  to  be  searching 
for  them. 

At  night  they  went  on  again,  climbing  the 
mountains  and  groaning  with  the  weight  of  their 
belts.  They  were  sturdy  boys,  and  the  weight 
was  very  well  distributed  around  their  waists, 
but  the  load  of  it  grew  wofully  heavy  as  they 
proceeded,  and  more  than  once  they  stopped  and 
discussed  the  propriety  of  throwing  some  of  the 
gold  away.  But  as  the  hope  of  being  once  more 
with  those  who  loved  gold  came  upon  them,  the 
liking  in  their  own  hearts  increased,  and  they 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  be  rid  of  any  of  it. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  243 

So  they  toiled  on,  and  by  morning  were  at  the 
mountain-top,  as  they  could  know  because  they 
were  able  to  look  down  into  that  valley  which 
the  natives  had  spoken  of  as  being  so  beautiful 
and  so  fertile.  And  beautiful  it  was,  indeed,  and 
afterwards  was  named  the  royal  plain,  because 
of  its  surpassing  beauty.  Many  fruits  grew  there, 
and  fields  of  the  maize,  of  which  the  natives 
thought  so  much,  not  only  because  it  was  good 
for  food,  but  as  w^ell  because  it  was  the  source 
of  that  intoxicating  liquor  with  which  they  stu 
pefied  themselves. 

There  was  no  fruit  on  the  mountain-top,  and 
the  boys  ventured  down  lower  with  great  cau 
tion,  until  they  came  to  some  bananas.  Those 
they  ate,  and  then,  with  rising  spirits,  lay  down 
to  sleep.  They  had  come  so  far,  and  the  remain 
der  seemed  the  easiest  part.  They  had  seen  that 
river,  called  in  those  times,  and  in  theser,  too,  the 
Yagui,  of  which  the  old  Indian  had  spoken,  and 
they  knew  that  if  they  could  but  find  a  canoe 
along  its  banks  they  would  be  able  to  make  the 
remainder  of  the  journey  with  comparative  ease. 

Well,  not  to  dwell  too  long  on  a  journey 
which  wras  made  safely,  they  were  three  days  in 
reaching  a  part  of  the  river  that  was  suited  to 
their  purpose  ;  for,  though  navigable  where  they 
first  came  upon  it,  it  was  so  narrow  that  they 


244  DIEGO   PINZON. 

would  have  been  in  constant  danger  of  detec 
tion. 

Another  night's  journey  had  to  be  made  after 
that  before  they  could  find  a  canoe ;  but  they  did 
at  last  come  upon  one,  and  took  it  without  qualms 
of  conscience,  knowing  that  the  hawk's  bell  they 
hung  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  payment  for  it 
would  be  deemed  a  sufficient  recompense. 

For  three  nights  they  floated  down  the  stream, 
and  mightily  frightened  they  were  by  discover 
ing  that  there  were  in  it  those  horrible  reptiles 
known  to  the  natives  as  caimans— great  lizard- 
like  monsters,  with  huge  jaws  armed  with  shin 
ing  rows  of  sharp  teeth,  and  which  could  stun  a 
man  with  a  blow  of  the  tail.  The  admiral  had 
said  that  the  like  creatures  were  found  in  Egypt 
and  in  other  places  in  Africa,  but  the  boys  liked 
them  none  the  better  for  that. 

However,  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
at  last,  just  about  day-dawn,  and  then  their  anx 
iety  came  in  a  new  form.  Had  the  ship  gone  ? 
Had  it  left  the  island  altogether?  They  crept 
into  the  woods  and  worked  their  way  to  the  edge 
of  them,  where  they  could  see  the  beach,  and 
looked  out  upon  the  water.  Then  their  hearts 
sank,  for  there  was  no  sign  of  any  ship. 

How  could  they  have  hoped  for  it  if  they  had 
been  able  to  reason  dispassionately  upon  the  sub- 


"FOR  THREE  NIGHTS  THEY  FLOATED  DOWN  THE   STREAM." 


DIEGO   riNZON.  245 

ject  ?  It  was  bqcause  they  wished  to  hope  that 
they  had  done  so,  and  not  because  of  any  reason 
ableness  in  it.  At  first,  in  their  wretchedness 
they  would  neither  eat  nor  talk  to  each  other, 
and  they  could  not  sleep,  though  tired  and  in 
need  of  it. 

After  a  while,  however,  they  talked  a  little, 
consoled  each  other,  and  even  declared  that  they 
could  exist  on  the  island,  if  that  were  necessary. 
Then  they  ate  and  afterwards  fell  asleep. 

Diego  was  wakened  by  Juan  before  the  sun 
had  gone  down,  and  looked  up  in  wonder  to  see 
the  excitement  on  the  face  of  his  companion. 

"  Come  and  see !"  said  Juan,  dragging  him  by 
the  arm,  and  he  scrambled  to  his  feet  and  fol 
lowed  to  the  edge  of  the  wood. 

Two  ships  were  anchored  off  in  the  bay  be 
yond  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  coming  up  the 
river  were  four  boats  with  casks  in  them,  as  if 
the  crews  were  going  up  to  obtain  fresh  water 
while  the  tide  was  out. 

"  The  Pinta  and  the  Nina  /"  murmured  Die 
go.  "  Holy  Virgin,  I  thank  you !"  and  he  turned 
to  Juan  and  they  wept  in  each  other's  arms,  so 
great  was  their  joy. 


CHAPTEE   XXVII. 

THE  boys  stood  waiting  for  the  boats  to  come 
nearer  to  where  they  were ;  but  as  it  took  the 
boats  some  time  to  reach  that  point,  owing  to 
the  tide  and  current  running  together,  the  boys 
had  time  to  recover  from  their  ecstasy  and  to 
consider  some  things. 

There  was  the  Pinta  with  the  JVina,  and  the 
/Santa  Maria  was  not  to  be  seen.  This  gave  them 
a  curious  feeling  as  of  something  being  wrong. 
They  could  not  have  told  what,  but  it  made  them 
wonder  if  it  would  not  be  wise  to  make  them 
selves  known  privately  to  the  men  of  the  Pinta. 

So  they  hastened  up  the  river  farther,  and 
waited  there  until  they  should  see  if  the  men 
would  land,  or  take  the  water  out  of  the  river 
at  the  middle,  which  they  might  do  if  they  were 
afraid  of  the  natives.  But  it  seemed  that  the 
men  were  not  afraid  of  the  Indians,  and  rowed 
up  the  river  to  where  a  small  stream  emptied 
into  it,  and  there  they  went  ashore. 

It  was  a  little  higher  up,  but  on  the  same  side 
where  the  boys  were,  and  they  hurried  as  silently 


DIEGO   PINZON.  247 

as  possible  to  the  spot.  They  had  recognized 
many  of  the  Pinta's  men,  and  had  mentioned 
them  by  name  with  great  joy  to  each  other; 
though  Juan  had  looked  eagerly  for  Miguel,  and 
had  been  disappointed  not  to  see  him.  They 
hoped,  and  it  so  happened,  that  the  Nirials  boats 
would  push  off  first.  Then  Diego  and  Juan,  with 
shining  eyes,  stole  closer  to  where  the  Pintcts 
men  were,  and  Diego  called  softy  : 

"  Eodrigo !     Rodrigo  de  Triana !" 

"Holy  St.  Martin  !  who  calls?"  cried  Rodrigo, 
the  sound  of  something  familiar  in  the  tone  turn 
ing  his  blood  chill. 

"  Juan  Cacheco  and  Diego  Pinzon,"  said  Die 
go,  and  therewith  stepped  out  of  the  thicket  and 
stood  revealed. 

There  was  at  first  a  disposition  to  flight  on 
the  part  of  the  men  ;  but  there  was  something  so 
very  human  in  the  joy  of  the  boys  that  present 
ly  they  were  surrounded  by  all  the  sailors,  who 
fairly  embraced  them  in  their  joy. 

The  boys  were  hustled  into  the  boats,  one  in 
each,  and  all  the  while  the  explanations  were 
carried  on.  Diego  gave  the  briefest  sketch  of 
what  had  happened  to  him  and  Juan,  and  the 
sailors  all  together  told  how  they  had  returned 
and  had  not  found  them,  and  how  they  had  given 
them  up.  How  they  had  sailed  along  the  coast 


248  DIEGO   PINZON. 

and  traded  for  a  plenty  of  gold,  telling  that  in  a 
whisper  that  made  Diego  demand  the  meaning 
of  the  Pinta  and  the  Nina  being  in  company 
without  the  Santa  Maria. 

Then  the  men  told  how  the  admiral  had  been 
shipwrecked  near  the  western  end  of  the  island, 
and  had  built  a  fort  with  the  timber  of  the  Santa 
Maria,  calling  it  La  Navidad,  and  had  garrisoned 
it  with  such  men  as  wished  to  remain  while  he 
returned  to  Spain  for  more  colonists  ;  how,  after 
that,  he  had  started  to  circumnavigate  the  island, 
and  had  come  upon  the  Pinta  before  Martin 
Alonzo  could  get  out  of  his  way. 

That  had  happened  only  three  days  since,  and 
already  the  admiral  and  Martin  Alonzo  had  had 
an  altercation  about  some  natives  whom  the  lat 
ter  had  captured  with  the  intention  of  carrying 
them  to  Spain  to  be  sold  as  slaves.  The  admiral 
had  forced  him  to  release  the  prisoners  and  send 
them  ashore  with  gifts. 

"  It  will  soothe  Martin  Alonzo  to  see  you," 
said  Rodrigo,  "  for  he  has  grieved  sometimes  like 
a  madman  because  of  your  loss.  As  for  Miguel, 
he  will  be  very  glad  to  get  out  of  his  chains, 
where  Martin  Alonzo  has  kept  him,  vowing  he 
would  hang  him  to  the  yard  if  the  Pinta  left  the 
island  without  you." 

"  Then  my  cousin  believed  I  fell  because  of 


DIEGO   PINZON.  249 

Miguel?"  said  Diego,  very  glad  to  know  that 
Miguel  had  not  been  sacrificed. 

"  I  saw  him  with  his  arm  up  as  if  he  had  struck 
you,"  said  Kodrigo. 

uBut  he  had  tried  to  help  me,"  said  Diego. 

"  So  he  swore,  but  no  one  believed  him.  We 
should  have  triced  him  up  with  a  good  will,  Fray 
Diego,  if  you  had  not  come  back.  But  Martin 
Alonzo  will  be  pleased  to  see  you !" 

Diego  presently  had  proof  of  that ;  for  when 
they  arrived  at  the  ship  and  he  went  up  over  the 
side,  Martin  Alonzo  at  first  nearly  fainted,  and 
then,  being  hastily  assured  that  Diego  was  no 
wraith,  but  a  hearty  flesh  -  and  -  blood  boy,  he 
caught  him  in  his  arms  and  nearly  smothered 
him  with  embraces.  And  when  he  had  hugged 
him  as  much  as  Diego  would  let  him,  he  turned 
to  Juan  and  said  such  things  to  him  as  made 
him  very  happy. 

After  that  they  went  into  the  cabin,  and  Diego 
and  Juan  ate  at  the  mess  with  Martin  Alonzo 
and  the  gentlemen  adventurers,  and  told  their 
story  as  well  as  they  could,  without  betraying 
what  they  knew  of  the  gold  ;  for  they  had  agreed 
to  keep  that  for  Martin  Alonzo's  private  ear. 

So  after  the  meal  was  over,  Diego  asked  his 
cousin  to  give  him  and  Juan  a  few  minutes  in 
private,  which  Martin  Alonzo  did  by  taking  them 


250  DIEGO    TINZON. 

into  his  private  cabin,  a  little  hole  that  would 
scarcely  hold  the  threo  of  them. 

"  Now,  Diego,  what  have  you  to  say  to  me  ?" 

Diego  smiled  at  Juan  and  pulled  up  his  shirt, 
which  covered  the  belt  for  which  he  had  suffered 
so  much.  And  Juan  did  the  same.  They  took 
their  belts  off  and  placed  all  the  nuggets  of  gold 
before  the  astonished  eyes  of  Martin  Alonzo. 

"  We  did  not  speak  of  these  in  the  cabin,"  said 
Diego,  "  thinking  you  might  wish  to  know  it 
first." 

Martin  Alonzo  stared  at  him  and  weighed 
the  gold  in  silence  for  a  time;  then  he  almost 
gasped : 

"  More  than  a  thousand  ducats  of  gold !  Why, 
boys,  you  are  rich !  And  you  tell  me  the  island 
is  full  of  it?" 

"  We  saw  it  lying  thick  in  the  beds  of  the  riv 
ers,  and  a  native  told  us  that  a  piece  as  big  as  a 
baby's  head  had  been  found  in  one  place." 

Martin  Alonzo's  eyes  shone  with  eagerness  for 
a  moment ;  then  turned  dull,  and  a  sigh  broke 
from  him. 

"  It  is  bootless.  I  could  not  go  into  the  inte 
rior  with  the  men.  Already  they  are  crying  to 
get  back  where  they  may  enjoy  their  gold,  little 
as  it  is.  Nor  may  I  come  back;  for  the  admiral 
is  viceroy  of  this  new  country,  and  he  will  never 


DIEGO   PINZON.  251 

pardon  me,  nor  will  I  ask  for  pardon  nor  accept 
it  at  his  hands.  Keep  your  gold.  You  have 
earned  it." 

"  A  half  of  it  is  yours  by  right,"  said  Diego. 

"  I  shall  not  touch  it,  boy.  But  if  you  wish  I 
will  keep  it  safe." 

So  they  gave  him  their  gold  to  keep.  Then 
Juan  spoke  to  him. 

"  I  crave  your  pardon,  Martin  Alonzo,  but  I 
wish  to  speak  in  behalf  of  Miguel." 

"  The  knave !"  said  Martin*  Alonzo,  frowning. 

"  He  tried  to  save  me,  cousin.  He  did,  in 
deed,"  said  Diego. 

"  Why,  so  he  has  always  sworn,  but  I  believed 
him  not.  Why,  then,  he  must  be  freed ;  but  he 
is  a  scurvy  fellow  at  best.  If  he  had  been  half 
in  earnest  he  might  have  saved  you,  it  seems 
to  me,"  said  Martin  Alonzo,  who,  as  Diego  and 
Juan  afterwards  discovered,  had  not  grown  less 
obstinate  during  their  absence. 

Being  in  some  measure  the  cause  of  his  impris 
onment,  Diego  went  with  Juan  to  see  the  man 
unchained.  Miguel  was  in  a  strange  mood.  At 
first  he  refused  to  speak  to  Juan  at  all ;  but  after 
wards  thawed  and  was  as  friendly  as  ever,  not 
only  to  him,  but  to  Diego,  acting  as  if  he  had 
forgotten  that  he  had  ever  seemed  to  dislike  the 
latter.  And,  indeed,  it  never  was  certain  that 


252  DIEGO    PINZON. 

he  did  remember ;  for,  to  make  an  end  of  his 
part  in  this  story,  he  was  never  himself  again, 
and,  in  fact,  died  before  ever  the  Pinta  reached 
Spain,  nobody  rightly  knowing  what  his  ail 
ment  was. 


DIEGO  WENT  WITH  JUAN  TO  SEE  THE  MAN  UNCHAINED. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

WHETHER  or  not  the  admiral  ever  learned  of 
the  loss  and  subsequent  return  of  Diego  and 
Juan  cannot  be  known.  Certain  it  is  that  he 
made  no  mention  of  their  adventure  in  his  ac 
count  of  the  voyage,  rendered  to  the  queen  upon 
his  return  to  Spain. 

At  the  time  he  was  not  told  by  any  one  in 
authority  or  with  the  knowledge  to  relate  the 
facts  as  they  were ;  for  he  did  not  go  aboard  the 
Pinta,  but  gave  his  orders  from  his  deck,  when 
the  vessels  were  near  enough  for  that,  or  had 
Martin  Alonzo  visit  him  when  they  had  need  to 
communicate. 

The  next  day  after  the  return  of  the  boys  the 
order  was  given  to  set  sail,  and  the  two  vessels 
started  to  coast  around  the  island.  They  did 
not  go  farther  than  the  eastern  end  of  the  isl 
and,  however,  and  then  the  admiral  got  the  no 
tion  of  wishing  to  visit  one  of  the  Carib  islands, 
in  order  to  see  some  of  those  fierce  savages ;  and 
perhaps  he  would  have  gone  on  that  voyage,  as 
he  did  on  a  subsequent  one,  if  a  fair  wind  for 


254  DIEGO    PINZON. 

home  had  not  sprung  up,  and  caused  the  sailors 
to  be  so  home-sick  that  they  begged  him  most 
piteously  to  turn  towards  the  east. 

At  first  the  wind  kept  favorable,  but  not  for 
long,  and  now  they  began  to  experience  as  much 
difficulty  in  returning  across  the  ocean  as  they 
had  had  ease  in  coming.  And  by  and  by,  when 
they  began  to  have  hopes  of  reaching  Spain  be 
fore  many  days,  violent  storms  arose,  and  nearly 
made  an  end  of  the  crazy  little  craft. 

The  Pinta  was  even  worse  off  than  the  Nina, 
for  her  foremast  was  weak  and  could  not  stand 
any  strain.  The  worst  storm  came  on  about  the 
middle  of  February,  and  it  was  with  great  diffi 
culty  that  the  admiral  could  keep  the  two  ves 
sels  together.  For  a  time  Martin  Alonzo  did 
as  well  as  he  could  to  keep  company  with  the 
Nina;  but  the  storm  was  so  violent  that  it 
seemed  to  him  that  it  was  no  more  than  the 
barest  chance  that  either  vessel  would  live,  and 
so  he  determined  to  disregard  the  signals  of  the 
admiral  and  once  more  part  company.  Indeed, 
it  was  a  measure  of  real  safety ;  and  he  had  no 
thought  then  of  doing  what  presently  suggested 
itself  to  him,  which  Avas  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  the  Nina  had  been  unable  to  survive  the 
storm,  and  to  make  good  his  way  home  and  an 
nounce  himself  as  the  discoverer. 


DIEGO    PINZON.  255 

He  believed  that  the  Nina  could  not  have 
weathered  a  storm  that  had  nearly  wrecked  the 
Pinta,  and  so  he  sailed  before  the  still  raging 
storm,  and  after  many  days  was  able  to  make 
the  port  of  Bayonne,  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 
From  there  he  despatched  a  letter  to  his  sov 
ereigns,  announcing  his  discovery  of  the  east 
ern  coast  of  Asia,  and  assuming  that  the  admi 
ral  was  drowned. 

Then,  the  storm  having  abated,  he  sailed  for 
Palos,  pleasing  himself  with  the  thought  of  how 
he  would  be  received  by  his  friends.  The  Pinta 
reached  the  bar  of  Saltes  at  the  mouth  of  the 
little  river,  and  the  men  all  crowded  on  deck  to 
see  the  land  they  had  left  so  sorrowfully  a  few 
months  before,  and  were  returning  to  so  trium 
phant. 

Diego  pointed  out  to  Juan  the  convent  of  La 
Eabida,  standing  on  its  eminence,  where  it  could 
plainly  be  seen,  and  from  which  he  had  so  many 
times  looked  down  on  the  little  river  he  was 
now  sailing  up,  after  such  strange  adventures. 
He  wondered  how  he  would  be  received  there. 
There  was  certainly  to  be  one  nugget  of  gold  to 
make  a  cross  for  the  breviary  of  Fray  Bartolo- 
meo,  and  Alfonso,  his  old  friend,  should  have 
another. 

And  Juan  was  to  go  with  him  wherever  he 


256  DIEGO   PINZON. 

went,  and  it  was  always  to  be  share  and  share 
alike  with  them.  Juan  had  agreed  to  that 
with  a  full  heart;  for  the  approach  to  Spain 
recalled  to  him  the  things  he  had  been  able 
so  long  to  put  away  from  him,  and  it  was  pleas 
ant  to  hear  Diego's  hearty  voice  telling  him 
that  he  had  been  his  brother,  and  always  should 
be. 

"And,"  said  Diego,  with  a  joyous  laugh, 
"we  will  fight  it  out  as  soon  as  I  have  taken 
as  great  a  risk  for  you  as  you  did  for  me  off 
Haiti." 

The  sail  up  the  river  is  not  a  long  one,  with 
the  tide  favorable,  and  it  was  a  short  time  af 
ter  entering  it  that  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
town.  Martin  Alonzo  paced  the  poop,  filled 
with  the  thought  of  the  triumph  that  was  to 
be  his. 

"  Brother,"  said  Francisco  Martin,  his  face 
quite  pale,  "  what  vessel  is  that  riding  in  the 
river  ?" 

Martin  Alonzo  looked  and  looked  again,  and 
a  change  came  over  his  face  such  as  one  looks 
for  on  the  face  of  the  dying. 

"  The  Nina"  was  all  he  said. 

Yes,  it  was  true.  After  passing  through 
many  adventures,  the  Nina  had  reached  Palos 
just  one  day  in  advance  of  the  Pinta ;  and  as 


DIEGO   PINZON.  257 

the  Pinta  drew  nearer  the  town,  the  noise  of 
the  rejoicing  over  the  admiral  could  be  distinct 
ly  heard. 

-x-  *  *  *  * 

It  is  a  sad  thing  to  say,  but  it  is  true,  alas ! 
that  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  was  hurt  to  his  death 
by  the  ending  to  his  voyage.  Most  of  all  that 
wounded  him  was  the  feeling  that  he  had  dis 
honored  himself.  He  would  not  sail  up  to  the 
town,  but  took  a  small  boat  ashore,  and  went 
stealthily  to  his  house,  bitterly  contrasting  such 
a  home-coming  with  the  one  he  had  anticipated, 
and  yet  finding  in  his  heart  that  his  punishment 
was  just. 

He  had  already  been  ill,  but  not  seriously. 
Now  he  went  to  his  house  to  take  to  his  bed ; 
and  when  a  letter  arrived  not  many  days  after 
from  his  sovereigns,  reproaching  him  for  his  con 
duct,  he  groaned  aloud,  and  turned  his  face  to 
the  wall.  A  few  days  later  he  died. 

The  part  which  Diego  and  Juan  took  was 
very  much  brighter  than  this.  They  had  noth 
ing  wherewith  to  reproach  themselves,  and  they 
enjoyed  to  the  full  the  role  of  hero  which  was 
forced  upon  them. 

At  the  convent,  in  particular,  where  Diego 
went  with  Juan  the  very  first  thing,  they  were 
made  so  much  of  that  it  is  a  wonder  they  were 
17 


258  DIEGO   PINZON. 

not  ruined.  The  other  boys  followed  them  about 
like  dumb  cattle  after  a  leader ;  and  when  either, 
but  especially  Diego,  opened  his  lips,  you  would 
have  thought  some  of  the  gold  of  Haiti  was 
about  to  fall  from  them,  so  eagerly  did  his  old 
schoolmates  watch  them. 

As  for  the  nuggets,  Diego  and  Juan  were  not 
niggards  with  them,  and  would  have  melted 
them  away  in  the  warmth  of  their  generosity  in 
a  very  short  time,  had  not  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon, 
the  brother  next  to  Martin  Alonzo,  and  the  cap 
tain  of  the  Nina,)  taken  him  aside  and  talked 
with  him. 

Well,  he  had  already  been  generous  enough, 
so  he  permitted  his  cousin  to  take  his  money 
and  put  it  in  a  safe  place.  And,  indeed,  some  of 
the  property  bought  with  that  money  can  be 
seen  to  this  day,  still  owned  by  a  Pinzon,  too,  in 
the  little  town  of  Moguer,  about  a  league  from 
Palos. 

After  that  ?  Well,  after  that  Diego  and  Juan 
made  many  a  voyage  to  the  newly  discovered 
countries,  and  lived  to  learn  what  Christoval 
Colon  never  did  learn  —  that  they  had  actu 
ally  discovered  a  new  continent,  and  not  Asia 
at  all. 

And  they  were  with  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon 
when  he  and  that  Italian,  Amerigo  Vespucci, 


DIEGO    PINZON.  259 

made  the  voyage  together — an  account  of  which 
voyage  being  widely  read  over  Europe  was  the 
means  of  gaining  for  Yespucci  the  unmerited 
honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  reach  the  con 
tinent,  whereby  his  name  is  to  this  day  attached 
to  the  country  discovered, 


THE    END. 


JVJ3O4O61 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


